(KansasCity) - A University of Missouri medical researcher is working to use the cancer-fighting compounds found in grape skins and red wine in tumor-killing radiation treatments.

 Surgical oncologist Michael Nicholl says a recent study shows that resveratrol can make certain melanoma cells more susceptible to radiation. Previous research found similar hope in the treatment of prostate cancer.

The assistant professor of surgery at the School of Medicine cautioned that scientists have still not found an effective way to deliver the grape ingredient in sufficient amounts to destroy melanoma tumors.

His study was published in the Journal of Surgical Research, a publication of the Association for Academic Surgery.