Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, or CAPE, which is an over-the-counter natural remedy, has worked to stop the growth of prostate cancer cells and tumours in mice, researchers at University of Chicago Medicine say.

CAPE is a resin honeybees use to patch up holes in hives. It has been rumoured to cure everything from sore throats to allergies to burns.

"If you feed CAPE to mice daily, their tumours will stop growing. After several weeks, if you stop the treatment, the tumours will begin to grow again at their original pace," senior author of the study Richard B. Jones said in a release Friday.

"So it doesn't kill the cancer, but it basically will indefinitely stop prostate cancer proliferation."

He said it appears CAPE stops prostate cancer cells from being able to sense nutrition, which is needed for cells to grow.

The paper was published Friday in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.