Toxic gas could be a new cancer treatment

THE toxin formaldehyde is made as a byproduct of reactions in our cells, British researchers have found — a discovery that could provide new targets for developing cancer treatments.

While it has been known for a while that we produce the gas, used to preserve specimens, it has not been known how.

The findings, published in Nature, are important as some types of cancer, including the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancers, lack enzymes to protect themselves from the toxic effects of formaldehyde — and this could be harnessed to treat them.