Organic Dye Used for Bindi May Be Key to Skin Cancer Treatment

"Australian scientists say an organic compound used by Indian women to paint dots or bindi on their foreheads could hold the key to a breakthrough in cancer treatment. Rose Bengal was first used in the early 1900s as a dye for food, textiles and cosmetics. But now it is proving to be a useful weapon in the fight against skin cancer. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

Television advertisements constantly warn of the dangers of overexposure to the fierce Antipodean sun. Among them is the possible contraction of the disease melanoma, a type of skin cancer characterized by a dark tumor that can spread through the body. More than 1,200 Australians die every year from the disease.

Initial trials of a solution of Rose Bengal injected into some melanoma cells have had a 75 percent success rate in controlling the disease."

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