Chinese scientists create a "suicide mechanism" to self-destruct cancer cells

Scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have created a drug to treat nasopharyngeal cancer that causes cancer cells to self-destruct.

The university's media office indicates that nasopharyngeal cancer, according to scientists, is a type of cancer closely related to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection.

The office's statement said: "Scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Medicine studied the potential of the Epstein-Barr virus as a therapeutic target and succeeded in creating an mRNA-based drug that targets cancer cells in the nasopharynx that carry the virus."

It is noteworthy that university scientists, in cooperation with the Jackson Laboratory in the United States, created this drug, which they called a “suicide mechanism” to destroy cancer cells in the nasopharynx.

According to the university, testing the drug on mice showed “promising results,” indicating that it could be used to treat other types of cancers associated with the Epstein-Barr virus.