Defeat Cancer (36 page)

It’s hard to know specifically what factors are causing an increase in the incidence of cancer today. On an immunological level, cancer happens when the body switches from a Th-1 dominant, cellmediated immune function response, to one in which it produces more antibodies, which is a Th-2 response. When the body produces too much of a Th-2 response, it makes people more susceptible to allergies such as hay fever, and causes their cell-mediated immune function, which the body needs to fight cancer, to be poor. In people with cancer, there has been a movement away from a Th-1 dominated phenotype response to a Th-2 dominated phenotype response. Exposure to mycobacterium early in life can upregulate the body’s cell-mediated immune response, so factors such as the environment in which children are raised can determine the strength of their cell-mediated immune response later in life. For example, children who grow up on farms, and who get cuts and scrapes, and are exposed to all types of organisms, tend to have stronger cell-mediated immune responses as adults.

My treatment approach to cancer is fundamentally based upon trying to shift the patient’s immune system from a predominantly Th-2 response to a Th-1 response. At our clinic, we are heavily involved in cancer immunotherapy, the results of which have allowed some of our patients with metastatic cancers to live for ten years or more.

The most common, and by far most effective cancer-killing approaches that we use at our clinic are called sonodynamic and photodynamic therapy, both of which have produced very encouraging and positive results in our patients.

Photodynamic therapy involves giving patients light sensitive substances (usually chemical compounds called porphyrins, which are breakdown products from recycled hemoglobin, although
chlorophyll derivatives are also used). These substances accumulate preferentially in cancer cells and cause the cells to auto-fluoresce. When the substances are then exposed to light of a certain wavelength, energy is created. This energy is transferred to neighboring oxygen molecules and alters their configuration in such a way that they become an aggressive chemical species that rapidly reacts with any nearby biomolecules; in this case, cancer cells, and destroys them directly or via apoptosis. Tumors tend to be hypoxic (lacking in oxygen), so in some treatment protocols, we also use ozone autohemotherapy, which is a strategy for increasing oxygen at the tumor site. It also enhances the cytotoxic effects of the photodynamic therapy.

Some versions of photodynamic therapy have a very shallow penetration of only one-half centimeter. However, we use a specialized light bed, which patients lie on, to activate the light-sensitive agents. The light bed consists of tens of thousands of light-emitting diodes in the red light and infra-red regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. In comparison with standard photodynamic treatments, these diodes produce energy that penetrates much deeper into the body, allowing us to treat many types of tumors from the surface of the body.

Photodynamic therapy has several advantages over conventional treatments such as surgery and radiotherapy (radiation): It’s comparatively non-invasive, can be targeted to the tumor, and repeated doses can be given. It has no total dose limitations, unlike radiation, and the healing process results in little or no scarring. It can always be done on an outpatient basis, and it has no significant side effects.

Sonodynamic therapy is another method by which to activate the above-mentioned light sensitive substances in order to destroy tumors. Sonodynamic therapy is similar to photodynamic therapy, except that the light-sensitive substances are activated by ultrasound rather than by light (the light sensitive agent that we use is also sensitive to ultrasound frequencies). The non-thermal effects of ultrasound also create cavitations in malignant cells, thereby destroying them. The ultrasonic energy utilized by sonodynamic
therapy provides deeper penetration into the body than standard photodynamic therapy.

The procedure of sonodynamic therapy is carried out using a simple therapeutic ultrasound machine with a specially-designed treatment head known as a maniple, which is applied over the affected area, along with ultrasound gel.

In our practice, patients usually do photodynamic treatments on the light bed followed by sonodynamic therapy. Sonodynamic photodynamic therapy (SPDT), or the combination of the two therapies, represents a significant advancement over earlier methods of photodynamic therapy. We can now give patients the lightsensitive substances to take orally, whereas previously, we had to administer them intravenously. This is advantageous because giving patients a light-sensitive agent orally (sublingually) allows it to accumulate more slowly at the tumor site, which means that less of that agent gets excreted through the kidneys. When given intravenously, there’s an immediate, large peak of the light-sensitive substance(s) in patients’ serum (blood) which leads to significantly larger amounts of the substance getting excreted through their kidneys. The agents that we use in sono- and photodynamic therapy accumulate selectively at the tumor sites and don’t produce the same photosensitive side effects that occur with standard photodynamic therapy. SPDT is a whole body treatment, and doesn’t require the undesirable practice of using lasers on the patient, which are used in standard photodynamic therapy. Instead, we use the light bed, which contains banks of emitting diodes which emit red light frequencies that are effective for killing cancer cells.

It should be noted that those with advanced tumors should be treated slowly to prevent their tumors from breaking down too quickly and over too short a period of time.

We assess our patients clinically, and then give them a photosensitive agent in the form of drops, which are absorbed under the tongue. Over the next 48-72 hours, the agent accumulates selectively in tumor sites. Following this, patients lie on the light bed, where they are exposed to appropriate light frequencies from the light-emitting diodes. The time of exposure is important, and can vary from up to twenty minutes for patients with less advanced tumors, to only a few minutes for patients who have more advanced tumors (the more advanced the tumor, the slower the treatment program). Patients do treatments on the light bed for three consecutive days. We then calculate on an ongoing clinical basis whether they need further treatments.

Anecdotally, we have had the best success using next generation SPDT with breast and prostate cancers. We have also had encouraging results with several types of brain tumors including glioblastoma multiforme. Many brain tumors have significantly regressed during photodynamic therapy. In one case of glioblastoma multiforme, the patient’s tumor completely disappeared.

Additional information on sono- and photodynamic therapy, including research studies which prove its effectiveness, can be found on the following websites:
www.spdt.org.uk
, or
www.doveclinic.com
.

The innate immune system is a complex network of immune cells which includes monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and natural killer cells—all of which circulate throughout the body to identify and destroy foreign pathogens and damaged cells. Extensive research has proven that cancer rates are higher in people who take immunosuppressant medications and in those who have poor innate immune cell function.

Of all the natural compounds known to activate the innate immune system, the best documented and most effective are the 1-3, 1-6 beta glucans, which are generally derived from baker’s yeast. Wellmune (which is sold in the United States) and Immiflex (which is sold in the United Kingdom) are two reputable products that we recommend to our patients which provide an inexpensive, effective way to stimulate the innate immune system, and thereby, the body’s response to cancer.

For years, our clinic worked with the Riordan family in the United States, which did the original research on the effectiveness of high dose Vitamin C for treating cancer. Intravenous Vitamin C at very high doses has a pro-oxidant, rather than anti-oxidant effect, which means it can kill cancer cells. It does this without producing the same side effects as chemotherapy. Although published research demonstrates that high dose intravenous Vitamin C can kill cancer cells, there are currently very few studies which demonstrate how effective it is for specific cancers and various types of tumors. At our clinic, we administer Vitamin C therapy concurrently with oral supplements such as alpha-lipoic acid and quercetin, which increase the body’s serum levels of Vitamin C.

Another effective approach which we have developed for treating cancer involves pro-enzymes. It’s similar to pancreatic enzyme therapy, but goes one step beyond. In our study of pancreatic enzyme therapy, we realized that it wasn’t the enzymes themselves that worked to stop people’s cancers, but the pro-enzymes, or enzyme precursors. The pancreas secretes pro-enzymes (or zymogens) partly to prevent the enzymes from digesting proteins in the same cells in which they are synthesized. The body secretes pro-enzymes to keep us alive; without them, we would digest ourselves. In our practice, we worked out a treatment (suppository) using pancreatic proenzymes, and had remarkable results from using it on many of our cancer patients.

Our pro-enzyme treatments were so successful that we decided to spend huge amounts of money to do animal studies and cell cultures to have them formally developed. We took out a couple of patents on them and have started a pharmaceutical company in Australia, called Propanc-Pty-Ltd., which is now responsible for its research and development. There is nothing about this type of treatment on the Dove Clinic’s website, since I have turned the intellectual property rights over to the Australian company, but it’s one of the first, totally safe, biological remedies to ever be developed for cancer treatment.

At the moment, I can’t get pro-enzymes made for use at our clinic because we don’t currently have the funds available for redevelopment. When the clinical trials have been completed, we will be able to use pro-enzymes as part of our treatment programs again. We expect them to be out on the market in about four or five years. We could continue to make them ourselves, but we currently don’t have access to all of the raw materials. We could get them made under a research banner, but then we would have to manufacture them to pharmaceutical standards, which would require millions of dollars.

I developed this treatment, along with the sonodynamic and photodynamic therapies, right here at our clinic in New Hampshire. We are the only major clinic in the world that has developed two new, major, effective types of treatment for cancer, both of which are completely safe, non-chemotherapeutic and non-radiotherapy approaches. We feel justly proud of that.

Over the past ten years, the medical community has rapidly increased its understanding of immune surveillance and its appreciation of the mechanisms by which tumors escape its notice. This has led to the development of promising new strategies against cancer, of which the most exciting and consistently successful are dendritic cell therapy vaccines.

It’s clear that the immune system is capable of recognizing tumor cells. Cellular immunotherapy or dendritic cell therapy vaccines consist of giving patients cells that stimulate anti-tumor activity. The aim is to harness the body’s own potent immunological weapons to destroy cancer cells.

So-called cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are one of the critical cells that are able to destroy tumor cells. Receptors on the surface of T-cells recognize proteins called tumor-associated antigens on the surface of the tumors. The process is complex, but basically, in order for the T-cell to become activated, it must recognize the tumor-associated antigen and receive a co-stimulatory signal in order to kill off a cancer cell. In the absence of this, T-cells become resistant to the cancer’s antigen and the tumor continues to grow. The cellular orchestrators of this T-cell activation are antigen-presenting cells, which are the dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells possess a remarkable ability to stimulate immune response. Under the microscope, these cells are about the size of an average white blood cell and have long finger-like appendages which often divide. It’s on these appendages that the tumor-associated antigen is carried and presented to T-lymphocytes. In that process, the co-stimulatory signal is provided and the T-cells recognize the particular antigen presented to them. They then go to the tumor bearing that antigen and, if all goes well, are able to kill the tumor cells.

Dendritic cells are present throughout the body but are particularly prevalent in the skin. This is why some dendritic cell therapy injections need to be given into the skin (intra-dermally) instead of under the skin (subcutaneously). This is absolutely critical and is an important reason why some dendritic cell therapy vaccines fail.

In order to make a dendritic cell therapy vaccine, a tumor-associated antigen needs to be obtained. This can come from either a biopsy of the tumor, or ideally, from tumor cells from a tumor cell
line (a line of cancer cells that have been kept alive in a laboratory). Such cell lines can be kept alive for many years, and used to make an allogeneic dendritic cell vaccine.

Many hundreds of papers on dendritic cell therapy vaccines have been published in the medical literature, and more are being published all the time. Dendritic cells are being used to treat more and more types of cancer. The first vaccines were used for the treatment of melanoma, but now they are also being used to treat stage three and four kidney, prostate, brain, and bowel cancers, along with others.

It’s unusual for our stage four cancer patients who include this type of therapy in their protocols to go into complete remission. Yet, we often see an increase in their median survival time, and some patients attain complete remission after following our cytotoxic tumor killing program and receiving a dendritic vaccine. This is gratifying for us to witness, especially since our patients have experienced no significant side effects from the use of such vaccines. Also, it’s important to note that most clinical trials with dendritic vaccines have been done on patients with advanced disease who have some degree of immune suppression from their cancers and/or as a result of conventional treatment, particularly chemotherapy.