Your old friend calls and gives you real news: she has cancer. Her low tone of voice doesn't hide her desperation. The cancer is spreading fast. The HMO doctors did one round of chemotherapy—it didn't stop the cancer and she had a lot of trouble with it. Now they won't do any more. You're in the “alternative healthcare” field. What can you do to help her? The first thing I advised my friend was that she would need a very good integrative medicine practitioner, one with experience in treating cancer patients beyond the simplistic “slash and burn” of chemo- and radiation therapy. She agreed. But it was also obvious that my friend needed new tools for fighting her cancer, and fast. Good cancer fighting doctors are few and far between, so we had to be prepared to help them to help her. I dove into my boxes and boxes of files on cancer and anticancer treatments. I called up PhD colleagues who were experts on cancer (one never called me back). I called up the best integrative medical practitioners, and a pharmacist colleague who sells to them firsthand. With chemotherapy already having run its course, I had to look for ways to help my friend mobilize her own, built-in immune capacities to successfully fight this fast-spreading cancer. Her immune system would have to move from defensive mode into offensive mode, go after the cancer cells and kill them. For this she needed the best immunoceuticals I could find. In a recent issue of this magazine (July-August) I introduced nutraceuticals, nutritional substances potent enough to treat disease. Nutraceuticals can be just as effective as pharmaceuticals, and sometimes more effective. Nutraceuticals are always better tolerated than pharmaceuticals and have far fewer adverse side effects. I have introduced the term “immunoceutical” to best characterize nutraceuticals able to potentiate the immune system. I had to assess for my friend the virtues of the better anticancer immunoceuticals. I
realized two limitations on this project: (a) there is no lack of
promotional literature on therapies for cancer, and (b) among the
touted cancer therapies there are many pretenders and few real players.
Many remedies are touted against cancer yet few have had sufficient
clinical assessment. Most of the nutritional preparations being promoted
against cancer do not have one good double-blind trial behind them.
A few have indeed been subjected to one or more double-blind clinical
trials, and these are the ones I suggested my friend try first. But
first, some background. By potentiating the immune system, that is, raising its functioning to a higher level, immunoceuticals can help the body mobilize a lifesaving response against cancer. The driving force of immunoceuticals is helping the body's immune system to help itself; what the Chinese traditional healers called Fu-Zheng Therapy. The best immunoceuticals help the immune system to attack cancers, as well as to re-build and re-mobilize following chemotherapy or radiation therapy, interventions which are immuno-toxic and damage immunity. Foremost among the proven immunoceuticals are the mushroom glucans. Mushrooms have been used as medicinal foods for literally thousands of years, especially in Japan and China, and for three decades the beta-glucan substances from mushrooms have been under serious clinical investigation as anticancer immunopotentiators. Already in Japan various mushroom glucan preparations are officially approved for use against cancers. One of them (PSK) commands more than one-quarter of all the spending on anticancer drugs, even though it is not a drug but a natural constituent of an edible mushroom (Coriolus versicolor, or turkey tail). The beta-D-glucans found in mushrooms are large biomolecules that consist of polymers of non-sweetening sugars linked in a unique 3-dimensional bonding pattern. Our immune cells have only to be exposed to tiny amounts of glucans in order to become alerted and crank up our immune vigilance. The macrophages get more busy in gobbling up foreign bodies, more eager to signal the other types of immune cells to get into action. The B cells that produce antibodies, the T cells that amplify the antibody response, the killer cells that attack cancerous cells—all these warriors in the immune wars become activated and more sensitive to stimulation, and the resultant amplification of immunity is observed as an anticancer effect. Cancer patients' quality of life as well as length of survival are measurably improved by the mushroom glucans. Through double-blind trials a variety of patients with advanced cancers have been proven to benefit from the mushroom glucans. Cancers of the lungs, uterine cervix, stomach, colon-rectum, and the head and neck, as well as acute lymphocytic and chronic lymphocytic leukemias, all have responded to glucan preparations such as PSK and PSP from Coriolus versicolor; Lentinan from Lentinus edodes (the beloved shiitake mushroom), and Sizofiran (or schizophyllan, from Schizophyllum commune). Many other mushroom glucans are known, but these are less extensively researched than the four I have just listed. To my knowledge the highly touted Maitake D-Fraction has not yet been put through one clinical trial. Activity against animal cancers doesn't necessarily guarantee activity against human cancers, and there have been spectacular failures in this regard. Glucans prepared from other sources—yeast, oats—have seen little or no controlled application to human patients and must still be regarded as unproven against cancer. Another important category of plant immunoceuticals is the phytosterols, that is plant sterols used in combination with their glucoside derivatives called sterolins. These are overall very good immunoceuticals, and are clinically proven against benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), the common prostate condition which can lead to prostate cancer. A unique sterol-sterolin combination called Sterinol was just recently found effective against pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix triggered by HPV, human papilloma virus. Case studies of other cancers suggest Sterinol can block common side effects of cancer chemotherapy, including hair loss, skin lesions, mouth sores, and nausea. When started a few weeks prior to chemotherapy, Sterinol has boosted killer cell activity. As with the mushroom glucans, this effect of Sterinol offers promise to boost the immune “cleaning-up” of cancer cells that survive chemotherapy. Immunopotentiating herbals are found all around the planet. Out of Siberia comes Eleutherococcus senticosus or just simply Eleuthero, mistakenly called Siberian ginseng. Eleuthero is without equal as a stress reliever and organ tonic, helping the body cope with all kinds of stresses. And Eleuthero has specific benefits for immunity. In a double-blind study conducted on healthy persons, Eleuthero produced dramatic enhancements of the T cells, including the helper cells which help amplify the ongoing immune response and the killer T cells which destroy body cells that have gone haywire. Eleuthero also helps cancer patients against the harsh side effects of chemotherapy drugs. The root of Astragalus membranaceus has been used by the Chinese for immuno-potentiation over thousands of years, and appears in almost all their mixed herbal formulas. Astragalus has not been heavily studied using modern immunologic techniques, but in one ultra-modern protocol it has proven itself. At the famed MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Astragalus was used in combination with an immune-activating hormone to give a super-boost to weakened immune cells. This is a protocol that is used only after more conventional approaches have failed. Sometimes it works, and a life is saved. The usual protocol is that white cells are drawn from a patient who has advanced cancer and is immune suppressed due to the cancer or to the debilitating aftereffects of “slash and burn.” The white cells are incubated in the test tube with immune system hormones, and afterward added back into the same individual where they are expected to seek out and destroy abnormal cells. The degree of activation that can be achieved using just the hormone has not been optimal; adding on Astragalus gave a much-needed synergistic boost, thereby improving the chances of success with this desperate measure. Animal-source immunoceuticals can be very useful as part of an integrated anticancer program. Many of the most savvy physicians prescribe thymus gland extracts, for example. The thymus gland is a type of incubator for the prominent immune players called T cells (which come from the thymus, of course!) The T cells are just downstream from the macrophages; they regulate the B cells and the system responses as a whole, speeding them up or slowing them down as required to optimize the system's efficiency. Also coming out of the thymus are various types of killer cells, the immune warriors that cancer cells ought to fear the most. The killer cells sidle up to cancerous or other abnormal cells and inject them with a material that causes them to explode. Biological artillery. Thymus extracts can be prepared, usually from young mammals, that when given by mouth result in enhanced T/killer cell activity. But before you run out to buy a thymus extract for your friend, understand that there is a plethora of extracts available and it takes an experienced physician to pick the best one. Shark cartilage extracts are immunoceuticals at the center of a great deal of controversy. Sharks contain only cartilage, and this cartilage rarely develops cancers. The shark cartilage tissue contains a number of biological factors which retard the growth of new blood vessels under experimental conditions. Tumors growing in the human routinely need new blood vessels to deliver much-needed oxygen, nutrients, and other sustenance. Normally they put out their own factors which stimulate this process of angiogenesis; a high-quality shark cartilage extract when taken in sufficiently high amounts apparently can block this process. Some experts insist shark cartilage kills cancerous tumor masses in this way, and point to small clinical studies to prove it. Others insist just as vociferously that shark cartilage is still unproven, and that larger and better clinical trials are needed. Such trials are in progress. Until these further data are available, I would not recommend anyone rely exclusively on shark cartilage extract to cure their cancer. Transfer Factor (TF) also comes from animals and is interesting immunoceutical stuff. Good TF nowadays is an extract prepared from cow colostrum, and was originally named because it is thought to help transfer immune information from mother to child. Colostrum is the first stage of breast milk production, and is rich in immune-enhancing substances. The TF found naturally in colostrum work orally, are not allergenic, and speed the newborn's development of resistance to infection. The transfer factors tend to be similar between species, so that (all else being equal) the cow factors should be almost as effective as the human. Commercial TF contains up to a couple of hundred small proteins, all thought to carry some sort of programming information for immunity. TF seem to offer benefit against cancer. In one small double-blind trial, a type of TF was given to women following surgery and radiation therapy for invasive cervical cancer. Over a five-year period the recurrence of cancer was statistically significant, being in the patients treated with TF only about half of those treated with placebo (5 of 31 with TF, 11 of 28 with placebo). In other cancer studies, TF preparations ameliorated the immuno-suppressive effects of radiation and chemotherapy, and extended survival in lung cancer and bladder and prostate cancer cases. In children severely immuno-suppressed by conventional chemotherapy for their leukemia, TF may boost immunity sufficiently to lower the risk of death from opportunistic infection. The above described immunoceuticals can be used in combination, and probably should be, since they are far from being panaceas. I say this again-immunoceuticals are not magic bullets against cancer. They work best on small tumor masses, and will help eliminate small metastatic foci, but they are unlikely to destroy large tumors. This is where other interventions are needed that can reduce large tumors, such as surgery, hyperthermia, or massive doses of proteolytic enzymes. If chemo- or radiation therapy is undertaken, massive dietary supplementation will be necessary all the way through, both with immunoceuticals and with nutraceuticals that support the other organ systems. Immuno-potentiation by the immunoceuticals is complemented by the immune-supportive power of antioxidant nutrients. This is because the active immune system is under a great deal of free radical stress. The single immune cells produce and release high levels of free radicals aimed at their targets, but during close combat they are in danger of self-destruction from their own free radical ammunition. Therefore each immune cell has to carry a high level of antioxidant protection so as to be less vulnerable to the “friendly” free-radical fire. Vitamin C, vitamin E, and N-acetylcysteine (the major glutathione precursor) make up large segments of the antioxidant armor, as do the minerals zinc, selenium, manganese, and copper which support key antioxidant enzymes. Alpha-lipoic acid and flavonoids of various sorts all help seal the remaining chinks. Some
antioxidants may have more direct actions against abnormal cells,
as do the carotenoids lycopene against prostate cancer and beta-carotene
against pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth. Vitamin A is also an antioxidant,
but gives added benefits as a proven immunopotentiator. Deficiency
of A can cause the thymus to shrink; high daily doses boost immunity
and confer protection against side effects of chemo- or radiation
therapy. But mega-dosing with vitamin A can lead to problems and should
be undertaken only with your physician's consent. As individuals with cancer progress towards their own personalized programs, certain changes are virtually guaranteed to be positive for them. One such is to switch to very high quality protein, preferably coming more from plants than from animals. Another is regular intravenous dosing with vitamin C and other goodies. Moderate exercise is well known to boost immune function and wellbeing across the board. Psychospiritually, an optimistic and assertive attitude will be essential in the face of the daily challenges that are inevitable when one is in a fight against cancer. People with cancer have to be committed in the fight. Immunoceuticals are going to work best only when the individual with cancer makes a 100 percent commitment to defeating his or her cancer “outbreak.” Some characteristics of long-term cancer survivors were recently listed by Al Schaeffer in the October Townsend Letter; I have made small additions to these (see sidebar).
LYLE-TO
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