Cancer has a lethal habit of growing out of control. If you stop the growth, you might kill the cancer. A team at Children’s Memorial Research Center says it’s getting closer to doing that.

Dr. Mary Hendrix says human embryonic stem cells and cancer both want to keep growing. Sometimes, cancer won’t stop - but a protein called “Lefty” regulates human embryonic stem cells. Hendrix isolated this “Lefty” protein and exposed it to cancerous skin and breast cells.

HENDRIX: After they were in the presence of the human embryonic stem cell micro-environment they both stopped growing, they began to die and they stopped forming tumors in animal models.

Hendrix says scientists need to figure out how to make enough of the “Lefty” protein to use in full-blown animal trials.

I’m Shawn Allee, Chicago Public Radio.