Japanese scientists make cancer cells produce their own poison, killing them in laboratory experiments

BREAKING:

Japanese scientists develop method that forces cancer cells to kill themselves in laboratory tests. pic.twitter.com/C51uGrSCak

— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) October 25, 2026

True, but the headline overstates what has been achieved. Researchers at Japan’s RIKEN institute developed an experimental system that uses excess carbon monoxide naturally produced by cancer cells to manufacture a toxic anticancer compound inside them. The team tested the technique on cultured human liver, breast, cervical and lung cancer cells, detecting the compound in cancer cells but not in a noncancerous cell line under the tested conditions. A modified version generated a toxic drug inside liver cancer cells, damaging them. However, this is not yet a treatment, and the study did not demonstrate that cancer cells were universally made to self-destruct through programmed cell death. The experiments were conducted in laboratory-grown cells. The researchers’ next step is animal testing, meaning claims of a cancer cure or a treatment ready for patients are premature.

https://www.riken.jp/en/news_pubs/research_news/pr/2026/20260929_2/index.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77616-8