Cancer cells’ own chemistry used to make anticancer compounds

Japanese researchers have demonstrated a laboratory technique that uses carbon monoxide produced inside cancer cells to help manufacture compounds capable of killing them.

The proof-of-concept study, published in Nature Communications, offers an early indication of how anticancer drugs might eventually be generated selectively within diseased cells, potentially reducing damage to healthy tissue.

Researchers led by Katsunori Tanaka at the RIKEN Pioneering Research Institute developed a system that exploits the higher levels of carbon monoxide found in several cancer cell types.

According to RIKEN, the team enclosed a palladium-based chemical complex within albumin, a protein found in blood. This protected the reactive metal component from substances inside cells that would otherwise disable it, allowing it to use carbon monoxide to form the desired compounds.

Experiments involving cultured human liver, cervical, breast and lung cancer cells showed preferential compound production in the cancer cells, with little detected in the non-cancerous cells used for comparison.

The researchers then adapted the system to produce a compound with strong anticancer activity. Tests demonstrated activity against breast and liver cancer cells, while causing little damage to the non-cancerous cells examined.

The longer-term aim is to produce cancer-killing drugs where they are needed, potentially limiting the wider exposure associated with conventional chemotherapy.

However, this particular technique has not yet been tested in animals or humans. The findings establish a laboratory proof of concept, rather than a treatment available to patients.

Animal studies are the next step, and its safety and effectiveness in living organisms remain to be established.

Sources: RIKEN research release, 29 September; RIKEN research communication published by Medical Xpress, 23 October; Nature Communications, “Harnessing Endogenous Carbon Monoxide for Cancer-Selective Drug Synthesis”, published 17 September 2026.