The protein is an antibody, a substance which attacks foreign cells.
At Stanford University, the antibody worked to shrink or eliminate tumors from 7 different cancers.
In experiments in which human tumors were attached to mice, the antibody worked on bladder, brain, breast, colon, liver, ovarian, and prostate tumors.
The antibody blocked the protein CD47, which cancer cells emit to block attacks from a person's immune system.
The Stanford researchers hope to begin tests on humans could start in a year or two, and are hoping for equally dramatic results.
A team led by Dr. Irving Weissman, a professor of pathology, wrote about their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
