Scientists have claimed that a cure for cancer is being developed from human breast milk.

A protein in human milk, lactaptin, was found to destroy diseased cells in tests at a Siberian medical institute.

Project leader Valentin Vlasovs said that the two medications are going through the pre-clinical trial now.

During analyses of the milk proteins they detected a tiny peptide that affected cancer cells. It destroyed cancer cells and left the healthy ones alive, Vlasovs said.

Tests on mice showed the drug works especially well on liver and lung cancers.