Are Cancer Stem Cells The Key To Discovering A Cure?

From the perspective of conventional cancer treatment a diagnosis of multi-drug resistant cancer is equivalent to a death sentence. By the time such a diagnosis occurs, the patient’s body has been irreversibly damaged by chemotherapy and radiation, and an even more aggressive cancer has emerged to take the place of the original one.

Tragically, these treatments do not simply fail, but make the cancers more malignant.  This fact is effectively concealed by the name multidrug resistant cancer which makes it seem as if the cancer was so exceptionally resistant and malignant that the normally effective drugs used to treat it just couldn’t do the job.

But wouldn’t it be more accurate to call this multi-drug failed cancer, putting the responsibility back on the medical establishment, as it should be, in recognition of the impotence, or worse, cancer-promoting nature of its treatment choices?

In other words, instead of blaming the treatment failure on the patient’s body – or a set of virulent gene mutations within their cancer – it is time we look more closely at why conventional chemotherapy and radiation-based treatments breed multidrug resistance within the cancer of patients, who ultimately succumb to the effects of the treatment and not the cancer they were originally diagnosed with.

How Conventional Cancer Treatment Creates Greater Malignancy

Multidrug resistant cancer is the byproduct of cancer doctors (oncologists) throwing the chemical and radiological kitchen sink at the patient and not only failing to improve their condition, but significantly worsening it. How so? In order to understand how conventional treatment drives the cancer into greater malignancy, we must first understand what cancer is….

Tumors are actually highly organized assemblages of cells, which are surprisingly well-coordinated for cells that are supposed to be the result of strictly random mutation. They are capable of building their own blood supply (angiogenesis), are able to defend themselves by silencing cancer-suppression genes, secreting corrosive enzymes to move freely throughout the body, alter their metabolism to live in low oxygen and acidic environments, and know how to remove their own surface-receptor proteins to escape detection by white blood cells. In a previous article titled “Is Cancer An Ancient Survival Program Unmasked?” we delved deeper into this emerging view of cancer as an evolutionary throw-back and not a byproduct of strictly random mutation.

Because tumors are not simply the result of one or more mutated cells “going rogue” and producing exact clones of itself (multi-mutational and clonal hypotheses), but are a diverse group of cells having radically different phenotypal characteristics, chemotherapy and radiation will affect each cell type differently.

Tumors are composed of a wide range of cells, many of which are entirely benign.

The most deadly cell type within a tumor or blood cancer, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs), has the ability to give rise to all the cell types found within that cancer.

They are capable of dividing by mitosis to form either two stem cells (increasing the size of the stem population), or one daughter cell that goes on to differentiate into a variety of cell types, and one daughter cell that retains stem-cell properties.

This means CSCs are tumorigenic (tumor-forming) and should be the primary target of cancer treatment because they are capable of both initiating and sustaining cancer.  They are also increasingly recognized to be the cause of relapse and metastasis following conventional treatment.

CSCs are exceptionally resistant to conventional treatment for the following reasons

1. CSCs account for less than 1 in 10,000 cells within a particular cancer, making them difficult to destroy without destroying the vast majority of other cells comprising the tumor.[1]

2. CSCs are slow to replicate, making them less likely to be destroyed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments that target cells which are more rapidly dividing.

3. Conventional chemotherapies target differentiated and differentiating cells, which form the bulk of the tumor, but these are unable to generate new cells like the CSCs which are undifferentiated.

The existence of CSCs explains why conventional cancer treatment has completely missed the boat when it comes to targeting the root cause of tumors. One reason for this is because existing cancer treatments have mostly been developed in animal models where the goal is to shrink a tumor. Because mice are most often used and their life spans do not exceed two years, tumor relapse is very difficult, if not impossible to study.

The first round of chemotherapy never kills the entire tumor, but only a percentage. This phenomenon is called the fractional kill. The goal is to use repeated treatment cycles (usually six) to regress the tumor population down to zero, without killing the patient.

What normally occurs is that the treatment selectively kills the less harmful populations of cells (daughter cells), increasing the ratio of CSCs to benign and/or less malignant cells.  This is not unlike what happens when antibiotics are used to treat certain infections. The drug may wipe out 99.9% of the target bacteria, but .1% have or develop resistance to the agent, enabling the .1% to come back even stronger with time.

The antibiotic, also, kills the other beneficial bacteria that help the body fight infection naturally, in the same way that chemotherapy kills the patient’s immune system (white blood cells and bone marrow), ultimately supporting the underlying conditions making disease recurrence more likely.

The reality is that the chemotherapy, even though it has reduced the tumor volume, by increasing the ratio of CSCs to benign daughter cells, has actually made the cancer more malignant.

Radiotherapy has also been shown to increase cancer stem cells in the prostate, ultimately resulting in cancer recurrence and worsened prognosis.[2]  Cancer stem cells may also explain why castration therapy often fails in prostate cancer treatment.[3]

Non-Toxic Natural Substances Which Target and Kill CSCs

Natural compounds have been shown to exhibit three properties which make them suitable alternatives to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy:

1. High margin of safety: Relative to chemotherapy agents such as 5-fluorouracil natural compounds are two orders of magnitude safer


2. Selective Cytotoxicity: The ability to target only those cells that are cancerous and not healthy cells


3. CSCs Targeting: The ability to target the cancer stem cells within a tumor population.

The primary reason why these substances are not used in conventional treatment is because they are not patentable, nor profitable. Sadly, the criteria for drug selection are not safety, effectiveness, accessibility and affordability. If this were so, natural compounds would form an integral part of the standard of care in modern cancer treatment.

Research indicates that the following compounds (along with common dietary sources) have the ability to target CSCs:

1. Curcumin (Turmeric)

2. Resveratrol (Red Wine; Japanese Knotweed)

3. Quercetin (Onion)

4. Sulforaphane (Brocolli sprouts)

5. Parthenolide (Butterbur)

6. Andrographalide (Andrographis)

7. Genistein (Cultured Soy; Coffee)

8. Piperine (Black Pepper)

Additional research found on the GreenMedInfo.com Multidrug Resistance page indicate over 50 compounds inhibit multidrug resistance cancers in experimental models.

---

[1] Human acute myeloid leukemia is organized as a hierarchy that originates from a primitive hematopoietic cell. Nat Med. 1997 Jul ;3(7):730-7. PMID: 9212098

[2] Long-term recovery of irradiated prostate cancer increases cancer stem cells. Prostate. 2012 Apr 18. Epub 2012 Apr 18. PMID: 22513891

[3] Stem-Like Cells with Luminal Progenitor Phenotype Survive Castration in Human Prostate Cancer. Stem Cells. 2012 Mar 21. Epub 2012 Mar 21. PMID: 22438320

Related Blogs

Is Cancer An Ancient Survival Program Unmasked?

Stress Hormones Found To Make Cancer Resistant To Treatment

Metalloestrogens is A New Class Of Cancer Causing Estrogens

Does Chemo & Radiation Actually Make Cancer More Malignant?

Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker Than The Cancer

 

© March 14, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Are Cancer Stem Cells The Key To Discovering A Cure? appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Are Cancer Stem Cells The Key To Discovering A Cure?

From the perspective of conventional cancer treatment a diagnosis of multi-drug resistant cancer is equivalent to a death sentence. By the time such a diagnosis occurs, the patient’s body has been irreversibly damaged by chemotherapy and radiation, and an even more aggressive cancer has emerged to take the place of the original one.

Tragically, these treatments do not simply fail, but make the cancers more malignant.  This fact is effectively concealed by the name multidrug resistant cancer which makes it seem as if the cancer was so exceptionally resistant and malignant that the normally effective drugs used to treat it just couldn’t do the job.

But wouldn’t it be more accurate to call this multi-drug failed cancer, putting the responsibility back on the medical establishment, as it should be, in recognition of the impotence, or worse, cancer-promoting nature of its treatment choices?

In other words, instead of blaming the treatment failure on the patient’s body – or a set of virulent gene mutations within their cancer – it is time we look more closely at why conventional chemotherapy and radiation-based treatments breed multidrug resistance within the cancer of patients, who ultimately succumb to the effects of the treatment and not the cancer they were originally diagnosed with.

How Conventional Cancer Treatment Creates Greater Malignancy

Multidrug resistant cancer is the byproduct of cancer doctors (oncologists) throwing the chemical and radiological kitchen sink at the patient and not only failing to improve their condition, but significantly worsening it. How so? In order to understand how conventional treatment drives the cancer into greater malignancy, we must first understand what cancer is….

Tumors are actually highly organized assemblages of cells, which are surprisingly well-coordinated for cells that are supposed to be the result of strictly random mutation. They are capable of building their own blood supply (angiogenesis), are able to defend themselves by silencing cancer-suppression genes, secreting corrosive enzymes to move freely throughout the body, alter their metabolism to live in low oxygen and acidic environments, and know how to remove their own surface-receptor proteins to escape detection by white blood cells. In a previous article titled “Is Cancer An Ancient Survival Program Unmasked?” we delved deeper into this emerging view of cancer as an evolutionary throw-back and not a byproduct of strictly random mutation.

Because tumors are not simply the result of one or more mutated cells “going rogue” and producing exact clones of itself (multi-mutational and clonal hypotheses), but are a diverse group of cells having radically different phenotypal characteristics, chemotherapy and radiation will affect each cell type differently.

Tumors are composed of a wide range of cells, many of which are entirely benign.

The most deadly cell type within a tumor or blood cancer, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs), has the ability to give rise to all the cell types found within that cancer.

They are capable of dividing by mitosis to form either two stem cells (increasing the size of the stem population), or one daughter cell that goes on to differentiate into a variety of cell types, and one daughter cell that retains stem-cell properties.

This means CSCs are tumorigenic (tumor-forming) and should be the primary target of cancer treatment because they are capable of both initiating and sustaining cancer.  They are also increasingly recognized to be the cause of relapse and metastasis following conventional treatment.

CSCs are exceptionally resistant to conventional treatment for the following reasons

1. CSCs account for less than 1 in 10,000 cells within a particular cancer, making them difficult to destroy without destroying the vast majority of other cells comprising the tumor.[1]

2. CSCs are slow to replicate, making them less likely to be destroyed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments that target cells which are more rapidly dividing.

3. Conventional chemotherapies target differentiated and differentiating cells, which form the bulk of the tumor, but these are unable to generate new cells like the CSCs which are undifferentiated.

The existence of CSCs explains why conventional cancer treatment has completely missed the boat when it comes to targeting the root cause of tumors. One reason for this is because existing cancer treatments have mostly been developed in animal models where the goal is to shrink a tumor. Because mice are most often used and their life spans do not exceed two years, tumor relapse is very difficult, if not impossible to study.

The first round of chemotherapy never kills the entire tumor, but only a percentage. This phenomenon is called the fractional kill. The goal is to use repeated treatment cycles (usually six) to regress the tumor population down to zero, without killing the patient.

What normally occurs is that the treatment selectively kills the less harmful populations of cells (daughter cells), increasing the ratio of CSCs to benign and/or less malignant cells.  This is not unlike what happens when antibiotics are used to treat certain infections. The drug may wipe out 99.9% of the target bacteria, but .1% have or develop resistance to the agent, enabling the .1% to come back even stronger with time.

The antibiotic, also, kills the other beneficial bacteria that help the body fight infection naturally, in the same way that chemotherapy kills the patient’s immune system (white blood cells and bone marrow), ultimately supporting the underlying conditions making disease recurrence more likely.

The reality is that the chemotherapy, even though it has reduced the tumor volume, by increasing the ratio of CSCs to benign daughter cells, has actually made the cancer more malignant.

Radiotherapy has also been shown to increase cancer stem cells in the prostate, ultimately resulting in cancer recurrence and worsened prognosis.[2]  Cancer stem cells may also explain why castration therapy often fails in prostate cancer treatment.[3]

Non-Toxic Natural Substances Which Target and Kill CSCs

Natural compounds have been shown to exhibit three properties which make them suitable alternatives to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy:

1. High margin of safety: Relative to chemotherapy agents such as 5-fluorouracil natural compounds are two orders of magnitude safer


2. Selective Cytotoxicity: The ability to target only those cells that are cancerous and not healthy cells


3. CSCs Targeting: The ability to target the cancer stem cells within a tumor population.

The primary reason why these substances are not used in conventional treatment is because they are not patentable, nor profitable. Sadly, the criteria for drug selection are not safety, effectiveness, accessibility and affordability. If this were so, natural compounds would form an integral part of the standard of care in modern cancer treatment.

Research indicates that the following compounds (along with common dietary sources) have the ability to target CSCs:

1. Curcumin (Turmeric)

2. Resveratrol (Red Wine; Japanese Knotweed)

3. Quercetin (Onion)

4. Sulforaphane (Brocolli sprouts)

5. Parthenolide (Butterbur)

6. Andrographalide (Andrographis)

7. Genistein (Cultured Soy; Coffee)

8. Piperine (Black Pepper)

Additional research found on the GreenMedInfo.com Multidrug Resistance page indicate over 50 compounds inhibit multidrug resistance cancers in experimental models.

---

[1] Human acute myeloid leukemia is organized as a hierarchy that originates from a primitive hematopoietic cell. Nat Med. 1997 Jul ;3(7):730-7. PMID: 9212098

[2] Long-term recovery of irradiated prostate cancer increases cancer stem cells. Prostate. 2012 Apr 18. Epub 2012 Apr 18. PMID: 22513891

[3] Stem-Like Cells with Luminal Progenitor Phenotype Survive Castration in Human Prostate Cancer. Stem Cells. 2012 Mar 21. Epub 2012 Mar 21. PMID: 22438320

Related Blogs

Is Cancer An Ancient Survival Program Unmasked?

Stress Hormones Found To Make Cancer Resistant To Treatment

Metalloestrogens is A New Class Of Cancer Causing Estrogens

Does Chemo & Radiation Actually Make Cancer More Malignant?

Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker Than The Cancer

 

© March 14, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Are Cancer Stem Cells The Key To Discovering A Cure? appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Fend off Illness by Fueling Your Own Disease-Fighting Stem Cells

The popular view of stem cells is typically that of high-tech treatments reserved for “the future,” far-off foreign clinics the “authorities” usually tell us to avoid. But there is being a lot of progress in the stem cell world for treating numerous conditions. What’s more, studies are showing that we may be able to harness the power of our own stem cells, using nutrients that are already accessible in ways that are more in line with traditional natural medicine than science fiction.

One of the underlying drivers of aging is a decline in the number and function of our own stem cells, which we need to aid in tissue regeneration. Of course, one way to fight aging is therefore to protect and nourish these stem cells.

Research is showing now that extracts from green tea and berries, carnosine, and vitamin D, are actually able to influence gene expression in ways that assist these cells. One of these studies is based on other research showing that substances in older animals’ blood can speed aging in younger animals, and young blood can fight aging in older animals.

This time, both young and old rats were given either a mixture of blueberry extract, green tea extract, carnosine, and vitamin D, or a placebo. Their blood serum was then administered to cultures of rat stem cells to compare their effects.

While the blood of old rats on the control diet had harmful effects on the stem cells, that of the younger (and the older) supplemented rats did not. These nutrients have protective effects on cells, where older animals’ blood is likely to contain high levels of oxidizing, inflammatory substances that cause damage.

In another study using the same nutrient combination, supplemented rats were showing a great amount of changes in gene expression, including changes that reduce the production of pro-inflammatory chemicals and increase the amount of anti-inflammatory ones. This could have significant protective effects on stem cells, guarding their ability to repair tissue.

The researchers also found another amazing discovery: this combination boosted the expression of genes that trigger stem-like cells in brain tissue to become adult neurons – creating healthy, new neurons that could replace damaged and dying cells. Properties like this could be tremendously beneficial for people living with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Another similar nutrient combination has seen success in human clinical trials. This time, it was a commercially-available formula of green tea, astragalus and goji berry extract, with vitamin D3, ellagic acid, beta-1,3 glucan and food-derived Lactobacillus fermentum (probiotics).

Eighteen adults aged 20-72 took 2 capsules twice daily for 2 weeks, and their levels of immune cells, haematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells were measured at several points.

Even just one day after supplementation began, their numbers of 2 types of immune cells and the 2 types of partially-transformed stem cells significantly increased, and stayed that way over the 2 weeks.

A previous pilot study also showed that endothelial progenitor cells significantly rose after supplementation began. Besides being a natural, accessible alternative to experimental procedures, it could also be much more cost-effective. The difficulty in producing growth factors or directly injecting stem cells means that only a few specialized institutions are able to pull it off, and commercial viability can be poor.

Overall, these nutrient combinations may be an effective way to fight aging, targeting multiple causes such as oxidative stress, inflammation and stem cell degeneration.

Additional Sources:

LifeExtension

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Is Plastic Surgery Going Organic?

The following article was written by my good friend, Dr. Richard DeAndrea, MD, ND. He’s the Medical Information Director at LifeSci Center and Medical Director at The Good Life. His work places him at the forefront of the exciting advances described.

Is it possible to get a breast augmentation without an implant? Is it possible to get a face-lift without a filler or Botox? Is it possible to get full lips? Is it possible to get a head of hair without a spray or surgery?

Yes, this is already happening, this is not a dream. Plastic surgery has gone organic. Over 250 breast augmentations have been performed in Japan without an artificial implant using the same person’s stem cells taken from fat after a slimming thigh liposuction.

The first face-lift free of filler or botox was performed on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, by Dr. Richard Ellenbogen in 2010. In 2015, Lady Gaga revealed her secret way to natural lips, with full exposure in Cosmopolitan Magazine. CBS Channel 2 News Los Angeles reported about Dr. Ken Williams of the Orange County Hair Restoration Institute. He’s able to transform baldness to a full head of hair, as already has been done hundreds of times at The Hair Transplant Clinic of Rome, Italy.

What Is the Secret?

The secret is in you, your stem cells—not from embryos or another person. In a process known as Autologous Stem Cell Therapy, stem cells that come from your fat and are given back to you. Stem cells are a discovery that is turning the eye of doctors and surgeons to an organic approach, one that works with nature.

What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are unique cells found all over the body that regrow and replace the skin, hair, and fat content that changes in our bodies from day-to-day. In fact, millions of cells die on our skin in one day, these cells must be replaced or we would simply degenerate and disappear into the ethers.

How Are Stem Cells Affecting Plastic Surgery?

Stem cells are replacing silicon and saline implants and can be combined with fat from the abdomen, thighs and buttocks after liposuction to fill the breast like a balloon, up to two cup sizes. Women have gone from an A cup to a C cup and retained this size even after dieting. The same cells can be injected under the skin and into muscles to cause a face-lift and regenerate fine lines without a single drug or resection of skin.

Stem cells can be injected into a petri dish with hair samples to cause more hair to grow that may be transplanted into the scalp by micro-needle injection, causing your own hair to regrow.

Stem cells can stimulate growth of other stem cells in the lips. Even stem cells from plants have been shown to catalyze or stimulate the growth of stem cells in the lips, potentially giving lips a younger, fuller appearance.

The plastic enhanced days of Joan Rivers and Michael Jackson are losing traction. Plastic surgery is going organic because a new era has dawned in which the power of nature is replacing the false perception of better living through chemistry. It is time to get real and look good doing it, for beauty is and always has been deep within every cell of our being.

Time to go organic!

Stem Cells: Not Only Embryonic?

The following article was written by my good friend, Dr. Richard DeAndrea, MD, ND. As a holistic physician who advocates a progressive approach to medicine, Dr. DeAndrea is the medical advisor to the American Naturopathic Medical Association, the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Earth Save International. His work places him at the forefront of the exciting advances described below.

It has always been the dream of doctors to cure and reverse disease. Now, through the use of stem cells, this dream is a reality. Cellular medicine is a revolutionary paradigm shift that is exciting for many and challenging for those invested in the “big pharma” model as the cure for “dis-ease.” Healing at the cellular level is the next generation of medicine that will leave the “cure” word behind.

Stem cells are helping us move from limited, synthetic therapies that have limited use and objectionable side effects to unlimited, organic regeneration that heals. They are used today to combat leukemia, heal traumatic brain injury, fix degenerated joints and sports injuries, and even replace the role of Botox in reversing the fine lines of aging. These procedures are happening right now in the United States, and none of the cells used are from an embryo or aborted tissue.

Where Do Stem Cells Come From?

Some people are skeptical of stem cell technology because of concerns with stem cells of fetal origin. It is, however, not legal to harvest cells from aborted fetuses and it’s not necessary. Stem cells are abundant in the bodies of adults. There are, on average, up to 65 million active stem cells in your bloodstream at any given time. These are called Mesenchyme stem cells and they rebuild and replace old cells.

Since the time of the ancient Greek physician Paracelsus, it has been known that cells can replace and renew themselves. Doctors such as the Nobel-nominated Dr. Neihanz—widely considered the Godfather of stem cell therapy—led the charge in pioneering this work during the early 1930s. In 1956, human stem cells were isolated; in 1967, the first stem cell was cloned. Since then, a technology known as autologous stem cell therapy was developed to take stem cells from your blood, grow them in large numbers, and use them to heal you.

Stem Cells: The Future of Medicine

As technology progresses, your own stem cells will be used to regenerate your system. This will put an end to chronic “dis-ease” and organ failure. Researchers at the University of Edenbrough generated a kidney using stem cells in a dog. The kidney is fully functional and the dog does not need dialysis. In fact, in our children’s lifetime, procedures like dialysis will be a memory. Stem cells are the hope for a new lease on life.