WELLINGTON (Xinhua) -- New Zealand scientists said Friday they are on way to uncovering a secret which could help the body rid of cancer.

A team of researchers at Christchurch School of Medicine have discovered compounds in the cruciferous family of vegetables which help kill cancer cells that are resistant to other treatments.

According to their study, cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage, watercress, bok choy, radishes, turnips, and kale.

Team leader Mark Hampton said a protein called Bcl-2 makes human cells resistant to the normal cell-suicide process which removes damaged cells from the body.

He said cancer cells with a lot of Bcl-2 also have increased resistance to chemotherapy drugs, but he says compounds called isothiocyanates found in the cruciferous family make the cells more susceptible to treatment.

The research team said the next step is to find out how the compounds work inside the cell to negate the power of the protein.

Hampton said from there they could use that information to design new drugs against cancer.