Pancreatic Cancer

Cancer of the pancreas is a genetic disease which means that it is caused by changes (mutations) in DNA. These changes can be inherited or they can be acquired; the inherited changes explain why cancer of the pancreas runs in some families whereas the acquired changes can result from exposure to carcinogens and/or an immune system which is depressed in some way, rendering it less capable of killing cancerous cells once they develop.

Pancreatic malignancy has one of the highest mortality rates for cancer, being the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. A full 80% of patients diagnosed with it die within a year.

 


Signs, symptoms & indicators of Pancreatic Cancer

Symptoms - Bowel Movements  

Pale stools




Conditions that suggest Pancreatic Cancer

Metabolic  



Pancreatic Cancer can lead to

Metabolic  


Risks  



Recommendations for Pancreatic Cancer

Drug  

LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone

The use of alpha-lipoic acid and LDN stopped the progression of pancreatic cancer in one man who adhered to a rather simple program. [The Long-term Survival of a Patient With Pancreatic Cancer With Metastases to the Liver After Treatment With the Intravenous alpha-Lipoic Acid/Low – Dose Naltrexone Protocol, Burton M. Berkson, Daniel M. Rubin, and Arthur J. Berkson INTEGRATIVE CANCER THERAPIES 5(1); 2006] Disease progression recurred when stopping the program, and progression stopped again on resumption.



 

Conventional Drugs / Information

A common asthma drug reduced pancreatic cancer cell growth in laboratory experiments and animal tests, a new study reports.

A protein called S100P is found in excess amounts in some cancers and is important for pancreatic cancer cell growth and survival. This protein also activates a cell surface protein receptor called RAGE that plays a role in Alzheimer disease, diabetes, and cancer.

A drug called cromolyn, an allergy and asthma treatment, has been shown to bind to proteins similar to S100P. To test cromolyn’s effects on S100P in pancreatic cancer cells, Thiruvengadam Arumugam, Ph.D., Vijaya Ramachandran, Ph.D., and Craig D. Logsdon, Ph.D., of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, conducted experiments with the drug in tissue cultures and in mice with implanted pancreatic cancer.

They found that cromolyn bound to S100P, halted the activation of RAGE, and slowed cancer cell growth and survival in cell lines. In mice, the drug slowed pancreatic tumor growth and improved the effectiveness of gemcitabine, a chemotherapy drug used to treat pancreatic cancer.

“Together, these data support the further investigation of cromolyn as a possible treatment for pancreatic cancer,” the authors write. [JNCI December 20, 2006]



Lab Tests/Rule-Outs  

Digestive Enzymes / (Trial)

Although the body of evidence is small, an alternative treatment for pancreatic cancer has brought hope to a handful of patients and caught the attention of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which is funding a five-year clinical trial.

Dr. Gonzales, M.D. reviewed and published the follow-up results of 11 patients who followed his treatment regime. They lived on average three times longer than expected. Gonzales said all the patients were in an advanced stage of the illness, and their conditions were inoperable. He further stated that “the survival rate at this stage is usually about 4-5 months, but the survival rate for the test patients was 17 1/2 months… I think the pancreatic enzymes do have a powerful anti-cancer effect. We do use diet (fruits and vegetables), we do use coffee enemas, we do use vitamins and minerals. I don’t think any of those things kill cancer cells. I do think pancreatic enzymes do.” [Nutrition and Cancer 33(2): pp.117-124]



Miscellaneous  

Reading List

The Promise Of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy: Potential Benefits in Cancer, Autoimmune, Neurological and Infectious Disorders. By Elaine Moore, co-author SammyJo Wilkinson Foreword by Dr. Yash Agrawal, MD, PhD.

This is perhaps the first, and so far only book on LDN, and as such represents a milestone in the effort to bring LDN into mainstream use. Written by Elaine Moore, a high level science writer with a portfolio of previous accomplishments, her LDN book is perhaps somewhat technical and may be difficult for the untrained non-professional to follow. It delves into the sophisticated jargon of the medical research world. For example, in Chapter 5 on LDN and Cancer, there is a discussion of Zagon’s work on Cyclin dependent kinases, P53 and protein 21 and how this relates to inhibition of cancer by LDN.

However, in addition to the esoteric technical sections of the book, there are also chapters devoted to the lay reader interested in learning how LDN can help them on a practical level. A listing of dispensing practitioners was included which I found contained my own office address and phone number.

The book is highly recommended for other health care practitioners who wish to get quickly up to speed in this new area of medicine which is destined to become the medical paradigm of the 21st century, casting a giant shadow over the rest of mainstream medicine.[ Comments on the LDN book by Jeffrey Dach MD]



Nutrient  

Alpha Lipoic Acid

Please see the link between Pancreatic Cancer and LDN. The dose of Alpha Lipoic Acid used with the patient to increase his survival time was 300 to 600 mg intravenously twice weekly and orally, ALA 300 mg twice daily.



Key

Weak or unproven link
Strong or generally accepted link
Proven definite or direct link
Likely to help
Highly recommended

Glossary

Cancer

Refers to the various types of malignant neoplasms that contain cells growing out of control and invading adjacent tissues, which may metastasize to distant tissues.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid, the large molecule that is the main carrier of genetic information in cells. DNA is found mainly in the chromosomes of cells.

Immune System

A complex that protects the body from disease organisms and other foreign bodies. The system includes the humoral immune response and the cell-mediated response. The immune system also protects the body from invasion by making local barriers and inflammation.

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