An Arab-Israeli Scientist at the forefront of cancer research

Could preventing cancer be as simple as taking your daily vitamins? Dr. Fuad Fares, and Arab-Israeli scientist, believes he is very close to producing an anti-cancer daily supplement. Fares has spend years studying ancient herbal treatments and his latest research is revealing what he believes is a plant with a new family of antioxidants powerful enough to reduce and even prevent the development of cancer cells.

Dr. Fares recently published results from his experiments, conducted at the Carmel Medical Center at the University of Haifa lab, which demonstrate that the unnamed plant compound has indeed stopped prostate and colon cancer in mice as well as in human cancer cells in vitro.

Dr. Fares injected a crude extract of the plant into a test group of mice as a preventative medicine before introducing them with cancer. Of those given the plan injection, 80% were able to fight off cancer as compared to only 20% of the mice not given the herbal extract. Fares proceeded with a second test which demonstrated that the mice infected with cancer, who were given daily doses of the plan extract, were able to reduce the tumors by 70 to 80%.

Similar tests were executed on human cancer cells in vitro with the same dramatic results. "Just used as an extract it seems to be effective," says Fares, who is currently working on purifying the substance which may lead to even more startling results and quite possibly a medical breakthrough.

Numerous scientific studies prove that antioxidants, such as lycopene found in tomatoes,  fight free radicals that lead to cancer. However, Fares' mystery plant with its supposed new family of antioxidants, may actually be able to prevent and reverse the disease that is affecting such a large percentage of the world's population.

According to Cancer Research UK, overall cancer rates have increased by one quarter since 1975. Each year 10.9 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer and each year an astounding 6.7 million die from the disease. Statistics reveal that more than 1 in 3 people will develop some sort of cancer in their lifetime. 

For the many people suffering with the disease, Dr. Fares' herbal remedy brings hope that future cancer treatments will no longer include intensive and intrusive procedures such as chemotherapy and radio frequency, but could quite possibly be as simple as a supplement.

Dr. Fares is also director of Modigene, a company he created while doing postdoctoral work at Washington University. He will soon apply for a patent, and if his compound is determined to be unique, he will reveal the name of the plant and begin producing and marketing the wonder herb.

Dr. Fares remains tight lipped about the name of his herb, but he does disclose one fact, it grows in Israel. If Fares' research is verified, accepted and marketed many people throughout the world will have yet another reason to refer to Israel as the land of miracles.

 Written for Front Page Jerusalem: Israel in our Day