University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center researchers said the compound, which still faces several rounds of clinical trials, successfully stopped normal cells from turning into cancer cells and inhibited the ability of tumors to grow and form blood vessels.

If successful tests continue, researchers eventually hope to create a daily pill that would be taken as a cancer preventive.

"This compound was effective against the 12 types of cancers that it was tested on," said Doris Benbrook, the study's principle investigator. "Even more promising for health care is that it prevents the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells and is therefore now being developed by the National Cancer Institute as a cancer prevention drug."

The synthetic compound directly targets abnormalities in cancer cell components without damaging normal cells, researchers said. The disruption causes cancer cells to die and keeps tumors from forming.

Benbrook and her team have patented the discovery and hope to start clinical trials for the compound within 5 years.