Animals in all three groups developed lung tumors, the researchers reports in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

However, giving deguelin at the same time as the cancer-causing chemicals led to a marked reduction in the number of tumors. Giving deguelin afterward also cut the number of tumors, but the difference was not significant from a statistical standpoint.

Although there are concerns that high doses of deguelin may be toxic to the heart, lungs, and nerves, the authors observed no major side effects with the doses used in their study.

These results, Lee's team writes, "indicate that deguelin warrants consideration as a (preventive) agent for early-stage lung" cancer in human studies.