Researchers are poised to start clinical trials with a new "smart bomb" treatment, derived from the flower, targeted specifically at tumours.
The treatment, called colchicine, was able to slow the growth of and even completely "kill" a range of different cancers, in experiments with mice.
The research was highlighted at the British Science Festival in Bradford.
The team behind it, from the Institute for Cancer Therapeutics (ICT) at the University of Bradford, has published the work in the journal Cancer Research.
The native British Autumn crocus, also known as "meadow saffron" or "naked lady", is recorded in early herbal guides as it contains the potent chemical colchicine, which is known to have medicinal properties, including anti-cancer effects.
But the use of colchicine has been limited upto now as it is toxic to other tissues in the body as well as cancer.
The researchers at ICT have now altered the colchicine molecule so it is inactive in the body until it reaches thetumour.
The treatment, called colchicine, was able to slow the growth of and even completely "kill" a range of different cancers, in experiments with mice.
The research was highlighted at the British Science Festival in Bradford.
The team behind it, from the Institute for Cancer Therapeutics (ICT) at the University of Bradford, has published the work in the journal Cancer Research.
The native British Autumn crocus, also known as "meadow saffron" or "naked lady", is recorded in early herbal guides as it contains the potent chemical colchicine, which is known to have medicinal properties, including anti-cancer effects.
But the use of colchicine has been limited upto now as it is toxic to other tissues in the body as well as cancer.
The researchers at ICT have now altered the colchicine molecule so it is inactive in the body until it reaches thetumour.
Further Readings
The flower power that could kill cancer
Gemma O'Doherty on the medical breakthroughs giving hope to millions
It is a tiny lilac flower that blossoms in our meadows at this time of year. As the trees turn gold and the harvest moon lights the night sky, the autumn crocus makes its debut; a picture of purity and grace in the seasonal chill.
But there is nothing straight-laced about this last-minute bloomer. Since ancient times, its medicinal powers have bewildered and enthralled scientists, but the deadly poison that oozes from its petals to its roots has always hindered its curative potential. Until now.
This week, researchers at the University of Bradford brought hope to millions when they claimed that they had found a way to use this toxic flower as a cancer 'smart bomb' which can seek out and destroy all types of solid tumours, while leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
For several months, the team have been left spellbound in their labs as they watched tumour-ridden mice with breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancer make full recoveries after being treated with a chemical compound found in the plant called colchicine.
The treatment was so effective that half of the mice went into total remission after just one injection, while the restexperienced a dramatic reduction in tumour growth.
The team, led by Professor Laurence Patterson, said the breakthrough was "unprecedented" in cancer research, and human trials using the wonder bulb are expected to begin at St James's Hospital, Leeds, within the next 18 months.
What makes this new drug so novel is its ability to track down and target cancerous tumours as it courses through the bloodstream. Bypassing healthy tissue, it becomes active only when it finds enzymes produced by malignant cells, at which point it detonates.
The compound then becomes active, smashing the blood supply to the tumour and destroying its survival network. The fact that it does no harm to healthy tissue reduces the side effects associated with traditional chemotherapies, such as nausea, infection and hair loss.
In this golden era for cancer treatment, new successes are coming thick and fast. In Germany this week, the shelves of supermarkets were selling out of flaxseeds, after chemists there discovered that a sprinkling at breakfast could reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer by 40pc.
These high-protein seeds contain lignans, which kill off cancer cells and stop secondary tumours from growing by cutting the growth of new blood vessels.
At the University of Munich, another revolutionary weapon in the war against humanity's most baffling disease has just been developed. Medical engineers have created a tiny device that can monitor tumours from inside the body, transmitting information to a doctor when something suspicious turns up.
The chip implant, called IntelliTuM, is intended to be implanted near the tumour and can detect a drop in oxygen in the patient's tissue, which suggests the disease is spreading.
The device, which is about to be tested on animals, could reduce the need for endless hospital appointments and nerve-racking scans.
With each new departure, there is growing reason to believe that the battle against cancer has reached a turning point and we are finally getting to grips with this sinister enemy.
New figures show that while the number of cancer cases in Ireland has almost doubled since the '90s, survival rates have shot up, too. Patients can now expect a 50pc chance of living for five years after a diagnosis compared to 40pc in the '90s.
After almost a century of cancer research, oncologists know that this is the most exciting chapter in their profession's history. The doom and gloom often associated with a diagnosis is increasingly unfounded as the disease moves from being one that patients die from to a chronic condition they can live with, like diabetes or high blood pressure.
Science is still reluctant to speak of cures but it has by now uncovered most of the dark secrets of malignant cells, and is more capable of stopping them in their tracks than ever before.
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