A POTENTIAL cancer cure discovered in Far North Queensland that has been successfully tested on human patients is hoped to become commercially available in four years.

Brisbane-based researchers QBiotics have released the ­results of their first clinical trials of the drug EBC-46.

The drug has been derived from the seeds of the rainforest blushwood tree, which grows on the Tablelands.

Eight cancer patients across Australia were tested with the drug, which successfully treated four different types of ­tumours that included melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and breast adenocarcinoma.

QBiotics CEO Dr Victoria Gordon said none of the ­patients, who were treated at hospitals in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, showed any negative side ­effects from the drug.

“Our last patient – which was our melanoma patient – we had total tumour destruction in both of the tumours that we treated,” she said.

“We’re very happy about that.

“Within seven days, the ­tumours were gone.

“The exciting thing is the drugs are responding in exactly the same way in tumours in cats and dogs and horses.

“It’s proving our theory that it’s not species-specific, and it’s not tumour-specific either, ­because it’s actually working in a range of tumours.”

She expected the drug, once it had been trialled on at least 11 more human patients, would become commercially available within the next four years.

“I’m particularly excited by the melanoma results,” she said.

“My father died from melanoma and it’s nasty.

“Both my parents died from cancer and I lost my sister three years ago to liver cancer, so I’m really delighted what we’ve achieved. It’s just ­onwards and ­upwards.”

The company is also ­progressing with its plans in international veterinary ­cancer markets, following ­approval from the US Centre for Veterinary Medicine for further studies on the treatment of canine mast cell ­tumours with EBC-46.

This approved study will ­involve 10 investigative sites and 120 cases for the treatment of canine tumours, and would be the final clinical step to use of the product in the US for canine mast cell tumours.

Dr Gordon said once the study was completed, the ­company would seek regulatory approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to make the drug commercially available to the domestic vet ­market.