A berry found only in Far North Queensland could be the next greatest weapon in the fight against cancer after scientists discovered its unique properties.

The blushwood tree, which only grows in small pockets of the Atherton Tablelands, develops a compound in its berries that have been found to rapidly eliminate head and neck tumours in addition to melanomas.

Dr Glen Boyle at the QIMR Berghofer medical research institute in Brisbane led an eight-year study into the compound, which has now been used to develop an experimental drug called EBC-46. 

Dr Boyle claims that injections of the drug can destroy tumours within 15 days, and 75 per cent of tumors injected with EBC-46 disappear and never return.

“There is a compound in the seed - it’s a very, very complicated process to purify this compound and why it’s there in the first place, we don’t know,” Dr Boyle said. 

“The compound works by three ways, essentially - it kills the tumour cells directly, it cuts off the blood supply and it also activates the body’s own immune system to clean up the mess that’s left behind.”

EBC-46 appears to have no side effects and works amazingly fast - Dr Boyle and his team report a ‘purpling’ of injected areas within five minutes, with tumours turning black and ‘falling off’ a few days later.

Critically, however, EBC-46 is only effective against tumours that are accessible by injection, and is not effective against cancers that have spread throughout the body.

Human trials of the drug by Yungaburra biotech company QBiotics have been approved.