Cancer Options Newsletter

Chemotherapy Special

With the latest news that researchers have discovered how

chemotherapy may encourage the spread of cancer causing lots

of questions to be asked we are spending this issue looking at

the questions and answers that arise from this.

We don't by any means have all the answers, most of the time I

don't think we even know half the questions but I do think that

we are heading towards a balancing of evidence that an

integrated approach makes complete sense. Not just

holistically and in a pat on the head ‘you will feel better if you

are doing something for yourself’ kind of way, but in a

scientifically proven way that we have to support the

microenvironment to help people recover.

We know it leads to ill health so why is it such a problem to

consider it can play a very significant part in recovery, and not

supporting it can play a significant part in not recovering?

Patricia

C hemotherapy Causes

Cancer to Spread

H yperbaric oxygen’ a

valuable treatment at all

stages of cancer

Jane Dean MA ( Health

Research) RN RM ND

C onner Middelmann-

Whitney’s Magical

Chicken Soup—It is!

D r Patrick Kingsley, an

expert view on

chemotherapy

October 2012

www.canceroptions.co.uk

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Cancer Options Newsletter

Chemotherapy Causes Cancer To Spread

We have been contacted by quite a lot of people over the last few weeks since the research hit the press about chemotherapy damaging healthy cells causing them to provide growth factors to encourage cancer cells to grow.

Unsurprisingly this paradox has generated a lot of anxiety amongst people.

Like any piece of research that is converted into a headline it requires further investigation and consideration so let’s have a look at it:

Scientists from the Seattle based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre have stumbled upon a very incon-venient truth.

Chemotherapy is so damaging to the healthy cells surrounding a tumour that it changes their DNA, causing fi-broblasts, those cells involved in wound healing and maintaining connective tissue, to produce a molecule called WNT16B that actually encourages prostate tumors to grow and invade neighbouring cells. WNT16B, when secreted, would interact with nearby tumour cells and cause them to grow, invade, and important-ly, resist subsequent therapy. The scientists found this effect in action in samples of prostate, breast and ovari-an cancers, in response to a handful of commonly used chemotherapy drugs includ-ing docetaxel andmitoxantrone.

Journal Nature Medicine August 2012

Professor Fran Balkwill, a UK based expert on the tumour microenvironment commented that these findings are in line with other research which has demonstrated that “cancer treatments don’t just affect cancer cells, but can also target cells in and around tumors”.

The response to this from Cancer Research UK to their many enquiries was:

“But it doesn’t tell us anything new about current chemotherapy treatments – we already know that some can-cers respond to chemo while other don’t, or start growing again after treatment. In fact, the research from US scientists that sparked the coverage categorically does not show chemotherapy makes cancer harder to beat. Instead, the work gives scientists a vital insight into one way that the body can develop resistance to chemo-therapy, and it could help explain why treatment sometimes stops working”

Cancer Options Newsletter

So what does all that mean?

It means we have now identified the mechanism by which damage to the microenvironment of the body directly influences treatment outcome.

It shows us why cancer can come back very soon after completing treatment or indeed sometimes during treat-ment

It shows us that depending on the position and aggressiveness of tumours there it is possible that chemotherapy may make the situation worse and the collateral damage to the rest of the body not only affects quality of life it may shorten it

It is by no means an absolute that this will occur to everyone who chooses chemotherapy or indeed which drugs but it will now become a factor when people are making an ‘informed’ decision about what treatment entails

The response from Cancer Research UK is enormously disappointing

“It doesn’t tell us anything new”, no it doesn’t, it is a reflection of the true nature of this treatment and how it works and the long way we have to go to get around these problems

What is enormously disappointing is the response “this will lead the way to new drugs to solve this”

That disappoints me because it shows a narrow and one dimensional view of the possibilities open to us to help the body deal with cancer.

You guys sit there and wait while we go and spend 8 years developing a new drug to deal with this! Does it never occur to them that some of the answers may be already under their nose?

Those of us that support integrative medicine support it for a reason, we fully value the concept that influencing the body’s microenvironment, detoxing the harmful toxins, supporting the mitochondria of the cells and providing the cells with the building blocks of DNA. This is in my view a much better way of dealing with cancer.

It brings the whole person into the scenario; their relationship with their environment, toxicity, nutrition, mental and spiritual influences all comes into play to affect the microenvironment of the body. The body is designed to heal – given the right support and environment it will do, that is why some people survive cancer and some do not.

Despite some good evidence people are still being given a blanket ban on taking anything to support the body’s microen-

vironment during treatment. This is frequently not a research based opinion but a general consensus from doctors. This is a frustrating situation for anyone who wants to help themselves as nobody wants to risk their treatment not working. I wonder if the latest news could possibly shift the opinion that not supporting the body is potentially more harmful. If the evidence is not good enough – do some research, don’t just ignore the situation. Research has got to move emphasis from focusing on drugs to shrink tumours and start viewing the whole person and their potential for survival. It has got to stop viewing the cam world with a high degree of suspicion and actually look at the good practitioners and practice, the wealth of evidence that is being created around the world. Look at the results other countries get who are more ho-listic.

That has got to be so much better than our current method of give the chemo and cross your fingers for a good result!

Although there is a lot that people can do to pre-

vent themselves from developing cancer, let us turn

to what you should do if you now have cancer. Let

us assume that you are having or are about to start

having a course of chemotherapy, as your Oncolo-

gist has recommended it. First, however, you

should ask him some simple questions. Perhaps

you could ask him the most important one of “Will

your chemotherapy cure me?” If he says no, then

make sure you ask him what it will do to you. If he

says it should extend your life, ask him by how much, and ask him how you are likely to feel

while you have his chemotherapy. Perhaps you could ask him if he would have it were he in

your shoes.

If he answers that his chemotherapy should extend your life by three months, but you

will be in hospital much of that time, and may feel quite ill, having the chemo, it is entirely up

to you whether you go ahead or not. That is a decision you have to make. It takes guts to say

no, when all around you are encouraging you to go ahead. If you have the strength, you could

answer as Michael Gearin Tosh did, when he was told that they could not cure him of his mul-

tiple myeloma. “Then I will find my own answer.”♥

Ok. So you are to go ahead and have the chemotherapy. What can you do to help your-

self? You are likely to be told not to take anti-oxidants, as they might stop the chemotherapy

from working. I’m sorry, if you are told that, your Oncologist doesn’t know the medical litera-

ture. There are over 180 papers in peer-reviewed journals, many of which actually say you

should take anti-oxidants with chemotherapy. They actually kill cancer cells in different ways,

so are helpful. I know just how helpful they can be. So, if in doubt, don’t tell your Oncologist.

Dr Patrick Kingsley

If possible have them intravenously the day before and the day after the chemo, but

that may be difficult to obtain, and can be quite expensive. Take at least 10g vitamin C, more

if possible, 200mg Alpha-lipoic acid and 400mcg selenium per day, in divided doses. There is

an oral form of vitamin C, in which 1g is maintained to be equivalent to 10g intravenously, so

you could take 3 or 4 sachets per day instead of having it intravenously♥.

Try to obtain the name of the chemotherapy they will give you, and obtain a homoeopathic

potency of 30C♥. Take a dose of it three times a day during the chemo and for at least one

week after the course has finished. As the chemo damages your immune system you will

need something to boost yours♥. As the chemo also damages the friendly organisms in your

bowel, take probiotics 3 times a day after meals and for at least one week after its comple-

tion. Finally learn to do coffee enemas before starting the course if possible, try to have your

treatment in the mornings and do at least one enema some time during the rest of the day.

There is a lot of cellular death to be cleared out of the body, and this will help you achieve

that.

In addition try to be on a good and healthy diet before the chemo begins, which is es-

sential in any case if you already have cancer. I would also recommend Juice Plus capsules♥,

as that will give you the valuable ingredients from 26 fruits, vegetables, berries and grapes,

an amount you could never consume in a day.

There are various way to boost your immune system. I used Biobran at 3 sachets per day for two

weeks then down to one per day continuously.

For information about Juice Plus capsules see www.juiceplus.co.uk/+pk025727.

Dr. P.J.Kingsley©

Dr. Kingsley has written 28 separate books on 28 separate cancers that are now available on Amazon Kindle or on the web at www.thenewmedicine.info, or type in Dr. Patrick Kingsley and Breast Cancer or Lung Can-cer on Amazon Kindle, etc.

Want to become an expert in your

own recovery?

There are so many different elements to an integrative

approach to dealing with cancer and building a cancer

free life afterwards.

Join me for a 3 hour master class in all you

need to know to survive and thrive!

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Cancer Options Newsletter

Natural Alternative to Sunscreen

A specially adapted extract from 'Imperfectly Natural Woman - getting life right the natural way' Janey lee

Grace Crown House books

Sunscreen...The natural alternative - keep out or cover up....

I think the sun has become such an ‘emotive’ topic in recent years. Everywhere you turn we are being

told to wear protective moisturisers with sun factor 15 all through the winter months, mothers who send

their children to school or on any kind of organised outing without a tube of sunblock are seen as pari-

ahs and yet sunbeds have never been more popular and tanning centres are popping up everywhere of-

fering us quick tan sessions or spray on fake tans. Enough already - if you're serious about natural anti-

ageing, there is a natural alternative to sunscreen.

There’s no doubt most of us like a suntanned look, somehow that bronzed beach babe looks healthier

than that pale and interesting figure huddled in the shade. You know what I think – its time to go back to

basics again. Let s go back in time to when the sun was not ‘the enemy’ Heliotherapy was the order of

the day and the sun was ‘worshipped’ for its healing properties and the incredible beneficial effects of

vitamin D – essential for our immune system and increasing our oxygen levels and for a feeling of well-

being not to mention strong teeth and bones. Some exposure to the sun even unprotected is good for us

as you’ll find documented in Richard Hobdays book ‘The Healing Power of the sun’

Now before you swing from the rafters with disgust and try and suggest that I am wholly irresponsible

telling mad dogs and Englishmen to go back out into the midday sun, lets remember that time has

moved on and we have a different environment now – literally. None of us know for certain now the real

state of the ozone layer but we do know that even in April or May an unexpected heatwave can result in

some very burnt and sore skin.

It’s the word ‘burn’ added to sun that changes everything, if your skin is naturally dark you probably

find you can be out and about in even quite strong sunshine and you aren’t affected. Paler skins like

mine though have to be extremely careful. I’m also covered in moles so I realise I’m prime target for

malignant melanoma. I wouldn’t for one minute be so daft as to suggest that anyone should go and lie

flat out to ‘sunbathe’ for hours at a time unprotected in hot sunshine for the sake of a ‘tan’, but by the

same token I don’t buy into this idea that its all alright if we slap on lots of high factor sunscreen and

reapply often.

Sunscreens can claim to block over 90 per cent of the sun’s harmful rays, the synthetic chemical type

absorb UV rays (allegedly) and the ‘barrier’ type disperse the sun’s rays.

So what should we do ? Well keep moving – be active – not static. Wherever possible if you know your

skin is likely to burn cover up.

Lets start with the kids, I’ve no idea why its so hard in this country to buy long sleeved lightweight tops

for kids, it seems to be either T shirts with short sleeves or sweat shirt style tops with long sleeves that

are too heavy for a warm summers day but if you know you’re headed for the beach get into ‘protective

clothing’ I'm a big fan of ethical fabrics and Bamboo is fantastically sun protective,

Cancer Options Newsletter

Chemo 'undermines itself' through

rogue response

Fibroblasts are usually helpful cells

The research which has led to the controversy

Chemotherapy can undermine itself by causing a rogue response in healthy cells, which could explain why people become resistant, a study suggests.

The treatment loses effectiveness for a significant number of patients with secondary cancers.

Writing in Nature Medicine, US experts said chemo causes wound-healing cells around tumours to make a protein that helps the cancer resist treatment.

A UK expert said the next step would be to find a way to block this effect.

Around 90% of patients with solid cancers, such as breast, prostate, lung and colon, that spread - metastatic disease - develop resistance to chemotherapy.

Treatment is usually given at intervals, so that the body is not overwhelmed by its toxicity.

But that allows time for tumour cells to recover and develop resistance.

In this study, by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle looked at fibroblast cells, which normally play a critical role in wound healing and the production of collagen, the main component of connective tissue such as tendons.

But chemotherapy causes DNA damage that causes the fibroblasts to produce up to 30 times more of a pro-tein called WNT16B than they should.

The protein fuels cancer cells to grow and invade surrounding tissue - and to resist chemotherapy.

Success v failure

It was already known that the protein was involved in the development of cancers - but not in treatment re-sistance.

The researchers hope their findings will help find a way to stop this response, and improve the effectiveness of therapy.

Peter Nelson, who led the research, said: "Cancer therapies are increasingly evolving to be very specific, tar-geting key molecular engines that drive the cancer rather than more generic vulnerabilities, such as damaging DNA.

"Our findings indicate that the tumour microenvironment also can influence the success or failure of these more precise therapies."

Prof Fran Balkwill, a Cancer Research UK expert on the microenvironment around tumours, said: "This work fits with other research showing that cancer treatments don't just affect cancer cells, but can also target cells in and around tumours.

"Sometimes this can be good - for instance, chemotherapy can stimulate surrounding healthy immune cells to attack tumours.

"But this work confirms that healthy cells surrounding the tumour can also help the tumour to become resistant to treatment.

"The next step is to find ways to target these resistance mechanisms to help make chemotherapy more effec-tive."

Conner Middelmann-Whitney

Magical chicken soup To me, everything about chicken soup is magical: the sweet, brothy scent that wafts through the house as the in-gredients’ aromas meld in my soup pot; its deeply comforting flavors as I spoon it down, and the sustained sense of nourishment and satisfaction I feel long after I have finished my meal. No wonder mothers throughout the ages have administered chicken soup to nourish their loved ones’ bodies and souls. Home-made chicken soup is also a concentrated source of easy-to-absorb nutrients, which is important for people undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Vegetables, mushrooms and herbs provide a wide range of vita-mins and plant chemicals to help boost our immune system and fight off infection. The easily digested protein of chicken meat helps prevent weight loss and supports immune strength. The broth – brimming with potassium, magnesium and sodium – counteracts the dehydration and electrolyte loss that sometimes occurs as a result of diarrhea. Finally, the ginger in the soup may help to keep nausea in check. Onions, leeks, bok choi, garlic, celery and green tea – all contained in the recipe below – have been found to en-hance the effectiveness of radiation treatment by increasing cancer cells’ sensitivity to radiation. However, ginger can actually protect cancer cells from cancer-killing rays, so omit this if you are currently undergoing radiation ther-apy.

This recipe doesn’t actually involve much work; just some vegetable scrubbing, peel-ing, chopping and patience as the chicken, vegetables and herbs yield their comforting aromas to the broth and to your body. You can make this as chunky or liquid as you want: if you are feeling weak and digestively challenged, you may prefer to sip just the broth. If you feel you want something more sustaining, add some finely shredded chicken meat, mushrooms and bok choy. Serves 6. 1 small organic chicken (2-3lb/1-1½ kg), any giblets removed 2 leeks, darkest third cut off, rinsed under running water (peeling the outer

leaves apart) to remove any grit; then coarsely chopped 3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped 2 ribs organic celery (non-organic celery may contain pesticide residues), coarsely

chopped 1 large chunk of fresh ginger root (1-1½ inch/3-4 cm), coarsely sliced 3 cloves garlic, chopped ½ tsp thyme 1 bay leaf 10fl oz/1 ¼ cups/300ml strong green tea 3.5oz/⅔ cup/100g green peas (fresh or frozen) 1 cup, thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (or ½ cup sliced) 1 head bok choi, green portions finely shredded ½ cup peas (fresh or frozen) 3-4 tbsp cooked rice (optional) 1-2 tbsp lemon juice, a drizzle of Thai fish sauce (optional) 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) or parsley salt & freshly ground black pepper

The Cambridge Institute of Complementary Health

One Day Convention

Current Approaches for people with Cancer

A first class convention to be held on 20th October 2012 Birmingham UK

Expert speakers from Orthodox & Complementary disciplines

Dr Damien Downing, President British Society for Ecological Medicine, Medical Director of

Alliance for Natural Health; Patricia Peat Founder of Cancer Options, Medical Adviser to “Yes to Life” & Integrated Healthcare Trust, patron of Cancer Active;

Prof Dr med Rupert Handgretinger, Prof of Haematology & Oncology in Paediatrics, Tubingen University Hospital, Germany; Prof Tim Oliver, Consultant Oncologist & Prof

Emeritus of Medical Oncology, St Barts & Royal London Hospital School of Medicine & Den-tistry; David Stevens, Founder of Chirokinetic Therapy (CKT); Dr Steve Hickey, Independent Science Researcher & Author; William Bradford, Managing Director of Meditherm Limited,

Europe

An Overview of Current Approaches/Techniques, Screening for Cancer Markers etc

Nutritional Support during Chemo & Radiotherapy, Natural Killer Cell Activity, Vitamin C, Supportive Techniques

Breast Health, Testicular & Prostate cancers An Evolutionary Perspective, Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging,

Open to all health professionals and the general public As one in three of us will contract cancer, this day will be of interest to many and may help

those we know, as well as ourselves!

Excellent Value at £110 all inclusive (£80 if booked before 19.8.12)

See www.cichealth.org.uk for details. Tel. 01223 572316 or 514601

Cancer Options Newsletter

HYPERBARIC OXYGEN TREATMENT AND CANCER

Jane Dean MA ( Health Research) RN RM ND

Cancer cells do not like oxygen. This is fact and was first highlighted by Otto Warburg, a bio-chemist, as early as the 1920’s when he stated, “ Cancer above all diseases has countless sec-ondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause, summarized in a few words, the prime cause being the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal cells by a fer-mentation of sugar”. (1, for further information)

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is an ideal way of simply breathing oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure and delivering oxygen to every cell in the body.

So why are we not standing on rooftops and shouting out the good news for everyone to hear?

Well there are two reasons that I can identify. The first is that oxygen is freely available, it is not open to commercialism in the way pharmaceutical drugs are, in other words there is no money to be made for the huge drug conglomerates. As a result Doctors are poorly informed as the majority of their up to date knowledge comes from direct marketing via the pharmaceu-tical industry.

The second problem is a little known Cancer Act which was passed in 1939 effectively outlaw-ing any cancer treatment other than what is deemed to be orthodox. Although much of the original Act has been amended, section 4 remains unchanged, stating, no person shall take part in any advert containing an offer to treat any person for cancer, or to prescribe any reme-dy thereof, or to give any advice with the treatment thereof. Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists are excluded from this draconian legislation, however the Act does prevent other pioneering treatments for cancer being openly discussed in the UK, making it very difficult for the general public to find out what alternatives there are to those offered by mainstream medicine ie sur-gery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment can be used as a preventative against cancer, but equally well can be used alongside conventional treatments. After surgery, HBOT will encourage healing and help pre-vent infection, during chemotherapy and radiotherapy, HBOT will help to minimise side effects of these aggressive treatments.

Dr Warburg’s hypothesis that cancer cells switch to fermentation in lieu of aerobic respiration is now widely accepted, even if it is not seen as the cause of cancer. In a lecture he delivered in 1966, Dr Warburg stated “to prevent cancer it is therefore proposed to first keep the speed of the blood stream so high that the venous blood still contains sufficient oxygen; second, to keep high concen-trations of haemoglobin in the blood”. (2)

HBOT is a treatment which can provide both of these requirements. By breathing in 100% pure oxy-gen under increased pressure, extra oxygen is taken up by the blood stream and distributed to all cells at a far greater rate. In addition HBOT encourages new blood vessels to grow, reduces swelling and fights infection.

In cancer therapy the most common use of HBOT is in treating the side effects of radiotherapy. Radiation is used to help obliterate cancer cells but in the process a number of healthy cells are caught up in the maelstrom of radiation and become damaged. As a result, skin can become fragile and easily damaged and sometimes open sores or ulcers develop. HBOT can help by increasing small capillary growth and encouraging healing. Always remember, ox-ygen is a primary healer, without oxygen healing is drastically impaired.

(3 for further information)

Several years ago we treated a patient with severe osteo-necrosis of the jaw bone following radia-tion treatment for a cancer in the mouth. In addition, Geoff had lost all sense of taste and his mouth was swollen with ulcers. He had taken to drinking liquid nourishment through a straw as chewing was too painful. After only five treatments his symptoms started to improve, after twenty treatments, his taste had returned, all ulcers were cleared and the bone necrosis diminished; life was much more cheerful for him. This story serves to illustrate how HBOT can improve damage to both bone and soft tissue.

Cancer Options Newsletter

Apart from the jaw bone, HBOT has been used to improve healing in ribs, breast bone and spine following radiation treatment for cancer tumours. The longer the tissue is damaged the less likely the lack of oxygen can be corrected and the more likely irreversible scar tissue forms. There is no better healing agent than oxygen.

In a review into the usefulness of HBOT in relation to radiotherapy, the panel concluded a sur-vival benefit has been shown overall and greater tumour control obtained when hyperbaric ox-ygen was used.(5)

More recent research has shown that by “feeding” cancer tumours with oxygen prior to chem-otherapy or radiotherapy, the cancer cells become more vulnerable to the treatment and out-comes are greatly improved.(4)

A further remarkable discovery concerning stem cells appeared from the University of Pennsyl-vania School of Medicine. Over a course of twenty sessions in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, circulating stem cells increased by eight fold. Stem cells, also called progenitor cells, are crucial to the repair of injured tissues and organs. Stem cells play an essential role in recovery of in-jured and diseased tissue and HBOT can accelerate the healing process by facilitating an in-crease in these remarkable cells. (6)

While drugs are associated with a host of side effects, hyperbaric oxygenation is an extremely safe treatment with few side effects, which are usually minor and short lived.

To conclude HBOT can:

Reduce cancer growth

Reduce side effects of radiotherapy treatment

Improve the delivery of chemotherapy drugs

Increase the production of the body’s own stem cells

REFERENCES

Brian Scott Peskin, Amid Habib, The Hidden Story of Cancer 2007, Pinnacle Press.

Dr Otto Warburg. Lecture given to Nobel Laureates, June 30th 1966

At Lindau, Lake Constance, Germany.

www.macmillancancersupport/cancerinformation/hyperbaricoxygentherapy.

Coghlan A, Feeding Cancers soften them up for attack. New Scientist. 1st August 2009

Dische S. What have we learnt from hyperbaric oxygen? Radiother Oncol 1991;20 (Suppl.1):71-74

Thom S. et al Stem cell mobilization by hyperbaric oxygenation. American Journal of Physiol-ogy – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. April 2006

For further information contact Jane Dean, A Breath for Life Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Cen-tre, Borrans Lane, Middleton Morecambe. LA3 3JJ

Tel 01524 855422

Email:- abreathforlife@tiscali.co.uk

www.abreathforlife.org

OR

British Hyperbaric Association

www.hyperbaric.org.uk

Jane Dean MA ( Health Research) RN RM ND

Jane runs A Breath for Life, a hyperbaric treatment centre in Morecambe. A Breath for Life is a registered charity and was initially established to provide HBOT for brain injured children but opened its doors to adults several years ago.

In 1985 Jane assisted Bea Vernon in running The Gentle Approach to Cancer Association, an off shoot of the then Bristol Centre now the Penny Brohn Centre, but in Lancaster, Morecambe and Preston. A support group still exists in Preston and Blackpool.

Cancer Options Newsletter

Lack of Oxygen in Cancer Cells Leads to Growth and Metastasis

It seems as if a tumor deprived of oxygen would shrink. However, numerous studies have shown that tumor

hypoxia, in which portions of the tumor have significantly low oxygen concentrations, is in fact linked with

more aggressive tumor behavior and poorer prognosis. It's as if rather than succumbing to gently hypoxic con-

ditions, the lack of oxygen commonly created as a tumor outgrows its blood supply signals a tumor to grow

and metastasize in search of new oxygen sources -- for example, hypoxic bladder cancers are likely to metas-

tasize to the lungs, which is frequently deadly.

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Cancer Research details a

mechanism by which these hypoxic conditions create aggressive cancer, with possible treatment implications

for cancers including breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, prostate, bladder and other cancers.

"We've known that the protein HIF-1a is overexpressed in hypoxic tumors. And we've known that the cancer

stem cell marker CD24 is overexpressed in many tumors. This study shows a link between the two -- the HIF-

1a of hypoxia creates the overexpression of CD24. And it's this CD24 that creates a tumor's aggressive charac-

teristics of growth and metastasis," says Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of the University of Colorado

Cancer Center and the paper's senior author.

Outgrowing the blood supply leads to tumor hypoxia, which leads to overexpression of HIF-1a, which signals

the production of CD24, which makes tumors grow and metastasize. In addition to aggression, CD24 has also

been shown to confer resistance to chemotherapy, allowing this small population of cells to regrow the tumor

once chemotherapy ends, leading to relapse and disease progression.

"Now imagine we target CD24," Theodorescu says. "Either by removing a cell's ability to make CD24 or by kill-

ing cells marked by this protein, it's likely we could disarm this most dangerous population of cells."

Theodorescu and colleagues showed this by adjusting levels of HIF-1a and CD24 in cancer cell samples and

animal models. With HIF-1a low and yet CD24 artificially high, cells retained the ability to grow and metasta-

size. With CD24 low and yet HIF-1a artificially high, cell survival and proliferation decreased.

Fasting Makes Brain Tumors More Vulnerable to Radiation Therapy

A new study from USC researchers is the first to show that controlled fasting improves the effec-tiveness of radiation therapy in cancer treat-ments, extending life expectancy in mice with aggressive brain tumors. Prior work by USC professor of gerontology and biological sciences Valter Longo, corresponding author on the study and director of the Longevity Institute at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, has shown that short-term fasting protects healthy cells while leaving cancer cells vulnerable to the toxic effects of chemotherapy. The latest study, which appears in the online journal PLoS ONE, is the first to show that periods of fasting appear to have the same augmenting effect on radiation therapy in treating gliomas, the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor. Gliomas have a median survival of less than two years. "With our initial research on chemotherapy, we looked at how to protect patients against toxicity. With this research on radiation, we're asking, what are the conditions that make cancer most susceptible to treatment? How can we replicate the conditions that are least hospitable to cancer?" Longo said. Longo and his co-investigators, including Thomas Chen, co-director of the USC Norris neuro-oncology program, studied the combination of fasting with radiation therapy and with the chemotherapy drug Te-mozolomide, currently the standard treatment for the treatment of brain tumors in adults after an attempt at surgical removal. The researchers found that controlled short-term fasting in mice, no more than 48 hours each cycle, im-proved the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy in treating gliomas. Despite the extremely ag-gressive growth of the type of brain tumor studied, more than twice as many mice that fasted and re-ceived radiation therapy survived to the end of the trial period than survived with radiation alone or fasting alone. "The results demonstrate the beneficial role of fasting in gliomas and their treatment with standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy," the researchers wrote. They said the results indicated the benefits of short-term, controlled fasting for humans receiving treatment for brain tumors. Longo cautioned that patients should consult with their oncologist before undertaking any fasting: "You want to balance the risks. You have to do it right. But if the conditions are such that you've run out of options, short-term fasting may represent an important possibility for patients." The research was funded by the National Institutes of Aging in the National Institute of Health (grants numbers: AG20642 and AG025135), the Bakewell Foundation, the V Foundation for Cancer Research and a USC Norris Cancer Center pilot gran

Cancer Options Newsletter

Cause of Chemotherapy Resistance in Melanoma Found

Researchers with UC Irvine's Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a major reason why melanoma is largely resistant to chemotherapy. UCI dermatologist Dr. Anand Ganesan and colleagues found a genetic pathway in melanoma cells that inhibits the cellular mechanism for detecting DNA damage wrought by chemotherapy, thereby building up tolerance to cancer-killing drugs. Targeting this pathway, comprising the genes RhoJ and Pak1, heralds a new approach to treating the deadly skin cancer, which claims nearly 10,000 U.S. lives each year. Study results appear online in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. In pursuit of a cause for the chemo tolerance, he and his colleagues performed a genome-wide scan for genes controlling drug resistance in melanoma cells. Their search identified RhoJ, a gene normally involved in blood vessel growth. They saw that in response to drug-induced DNA damage in a melanoma cell, RhoJ activated another gene, Pak1, which initiated a molecular cascade suppressing the cell's ability to sense this damage -- and blocking the apoptosis process. "Normally, such drug-induced DNA damage would result in cell death," Ganesan said. "But this blunting of DNA damage response allows melanoma cells to mutate and proliferate. Being capable of rapid adaptation and change is a hallmark feature of this challenging form of cancer and makes it very difficult to treat." On the heels of this discovery, he and colleagues have begun exploring methods to inhibit the genes responsi-ble for this DNA damage tolerance. What they come up with could one day supplement chemotherapy treat-ments for melanoma, Ganesan added. Hsiang Ho, Jayavani Aruri, Rubina Kapadia and Hootan Mehr of UCI and Michael A. White of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas participated in the study, which received support from the Na-tional Institutes of Health, the University of California Cancer Research Coordinating Committee, the American Cancer Society, Outrun the Sun Inc. and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.