NHS trials new brain tumour-busting drug - which originates from olive oil

An "olive oil drug" could be used by the NHS to treat brain tumours.

The most common form of brain tumour is glioblastoma, which kills most patients within one year of diagnosis. More than 3,000 people are diagnosed each year in the UK alone.

But now, a new drug could be taking the fight to this killer condition - and it's based on olive oil.

There is a naturally-occuring chemical within olive oil called oleic acid, and according to the NHS it has performed well in early tests. Now, a phase three trial is in the works for the NHS to evaluate its effectiveness.

Dr Juanita Lopez, a consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation and trial lead, said: "Glioblastoma is an incredibly difficult disease to treat and patients with advanced disease have very poor outcomes, often living for just a year after their diagnosis. There hasn’t been an effective new treatment for this patient group in nearly two decades, so drug development urgently needs to be accelerated.

"We’re very much looking forward to results from ongoing trials and hope this treatment eventually becomes widely available."

The drug apparently works by reworking cancerous cells, stopping them from working like a tumour normally would and stopping it from growing.