By Stew Kernan

A potential breakthrough treatment for cancer has been made right here in Sudbury.

It comes thanks to research at the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, the research arm of Health Sciences North.

A team, led by Dr. Hoyun Lee have created a small synthetic chemical molecule called VR-23 that kills cancer cells but does not hurt non-cancer cells.

He says they hope to be ready for human clinical trials within the next three years.

Dr. Lee is now working with the National Cancer Institute in the U-S to test VR-23 on more types of cancer tumours.