Tea tree oil and prostate research tops Cancer Council list

Dr Cornelia Bertram, from the UWA School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, will receive $24,000 towards her research into improved tea tree oil based formulations that could eradicate cancer cells and potentially be used in the future to treat superficial and deep skin cancers more efficiently.

"My research will also cover how this treatment works by examining what happens at the genetic level of cancer cells after they are treated with tea tree oil," Dr Bertram said.

Ultimately Dr Bertram, who works in collaboration with the tea tree oil industry of Australia, hopes her research will lead towards the development of a better topical treatment for common skin cancers such as basal and squamous cell carcinomas rather than the existing surgical treatment.