The red-hot power of chillies can kill cancer By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 16/03/2006) The substance in chillies that causes the tongue to burn also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to research that could pave the way for new treatments. The pepper component capsaicin makes the cells undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis, says a study published in the journal Cancer Research. High intake of hot chillis has been linked to stomach cancer Tests found that it induced approximately 80 per cent of cancer cells growing in mice to follow the molecular pathways leading to apoptosis....