Point 5 for Cancer Success

10 Points for Cancer - Point Five: Inhibiting Inflammatory Pathways

Controlling inflammation (Inhibiting the Cyclooxygenase Enzymes - COX-1 & COX-2 inflammatory pathways) plays a pivotal role inhibiting growth both at the primary site and possible metastatic areas. There are many inflammatory pathways in the body but the cyclooxygenase (COX-2) enzyme is a particular inflammatory pathway that has been the focus of research in the realm of oncology. Initially, scientists believed COX-2 was merely an inducible response to inflammation but it is now thought that the COX-2 pathway performs biological functions in the body, particularly in the brain and kidneys as well as the immune system. Understand that there needs to be a balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory activities in the body. COX-2 becomes troublesome when upregulated (sometimes 10 to 80-fold) by pro-inflammatory stimuli (subclinical autoimmune disorders, interleukin-1, growth factors, tumor necrosis factor, and endotoxins). When over-expressed, COX-2 participates in various pathways that could promote cancer (i.e. angiogenesis – new blood vessel growth into the tumor), cell proliferation (increased rate of tumor growth), and the production of inflammatory prostaglandins (Sears 1995; Newmark 2000; Chakraborti AK 2010). This is why POINT ONE is so important!!! You MUST deal with hidden autoimmune conditions, anemias, heavy metal toxicities, mold issues, etc.

A growing body of research has documented the relationship between COX-2 and cancer:

• An article in the journal Cancer Research showed that COX-2 levels in pancreatic cancer cells are 60 times greater than in adjacent normal tissue (Tucker et al. 1999).
• Solid tumors contain oxygen-deficient or hypoxic areas (a reduced oxygen supply to a tissue below physiological levels). Hypoxia promotes up-regulation of COX-2 and angiogenesis, and establishes resistance to ionizing radiation (Gately 2000).
• JAMA reported that a 9.4-year epidemiological study showed that COX-2 upregulation was related to more advanced tumor stage, tumor size, and lymph node metastasis as well as diminished survival rates among colorectal cancer patients (Sheehan et al. 1999). With more regular use of aspirin (a COX-2 inhibitor), the risk of dying from the disease decreased (Brody 1991; Knorr 2000). The journal Gastroenterology reported additional encouragement, showing that three different colon cell lines underwent apoptosis (cell death) when deprived of COX-2; when lovastatin was added to the COX-2 inhibitor the kill rate increased another five-fold (Agarwal et al. 1999). The benefits observed with COX-2 inhibitors extend beyond colon protection to the cardiovascular system, where they help sustain endothelial cell function (Tsujii et al. 1998).
• A groundbreaking study published in 2009 revealed that breast cancer patients treated with COX-2 inhibitors had a greatly reduced risk of bone metastases. In this investigation, the incidence of bone metastases were recorded in breast cancer patients who were not treated with a COX-2 inhibitor, as well as in individuals who received a COX-2 inhibitor for at least 6 months following the diagnosis of breast cancer. The findings were astounding—those who were treated with a COX-2 inhibitor were 90% less likely to develop bone metastases than those who were not treated with a COX-2 inhibitor (Valsecchi ME 2009).
• 134 patients with advanced lung cancer were treated with chemotherapy alone or combined with celebrex® (a COX-2 inhibitor). For those patients with cancers expressing increased amounts of COX-2, treatment with celebrex dramatically prolonged survival (Edelman 2008).
• Celebrex® slowed cancer progression in men with recurrent prostate cancer (Pruthi et al. 2006; Manola et al. 2006).
• Celebrex® prevented weight loss and improved quality of life in individuals with head and neck cancers (Lai et al. 2008).
• Regular intake of OTC NSAIDs produced highly significant composite risk reductions of 43% for colon cancer, 25% for breast cancer, 28% for lung cancer, and 27% for prostate cancer. Furthermore, in a series of case control studies, daily use of a selective COX-2 inhibitor, either celecoxib or rofecoxib, significantly reduced the risk for each of these malignancies. The evidence is compelling that anti-inflammatory agents with selective or non-selective activity against cycloooxygenase- 2 (COX-2) have strong potential for the chemoprevention of cancers of the colon, breast, prostate and lung. Results confirming that COX-2 blockade is effective for cancer prevention have been tempered by observations that some selective COX-2 inhibitors pose a risk to the cardiovascular system (Harris RE 2009).

This point addresses a natural approach to inhibit COX-2 in the cancer and though the above studies concentrated on use of medications, the side effects of Celebrex and NSAIDs is simply unnecessary when there are natural methods to perform the same task. The risks associated with traditional NSAIDs include gastrointestinal perforation, ulceration and bleeding, and renal and liver damage, so let’s be smart about this.

A study published in “The Journal of Ethnopharmacology” in 2002 revealed that inhibitors of prostaglandin biosynthesis and nitric oxide production have been considered as potential anti-inflammatory and cancer chemopreventive agents. In this study, “we evaluated approximately 170 methanol extracts of natural products including Korean herbal medicines for the inhibition of prostaglandin E₂ production (for COX-2 inhibitors) and nitric oxide formation (for iNOS inhibitors) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse macrophages RAW264.7 cells. As a result, several extracts such as Aristolochia debilis, Cinnamomum cassia, Cinnamomum loureirii, Curcuma zedoaria, Eugenia caryophyllata, Pterocarpus santalius, Rehmania glutinosa and Tribulus terrestris showed potent inhibition of COX-2 activity (>80% inhibition at the test concentration of 10 μg/ml). In addition, the extracts of A. debilis, Caesalpinia sappan, Curcuma longa, C. zedoaria, Daphne genkwa and Morus alba were also considered as potential inhibitors of iNOS activity (>70% inhibition at the test concentration of 10 μg/ml). These active extracts mediating COX-2 and iNOS inhibitory activities are warranted for further elucidation of active principles for development of new cancer chemopreventive and/or anti-inflammatory agents.”

These are novel agents (mainly herbal formulas) prove beneficial in blocking both Cox pathways and iNOS pathways. For this as well as other beneficial reasons to add these nutrients, I commonly recommend these herbs along with Medicinal Mushrooms. There’s another cool study that showed the benefits of blocking these pathways in skin tumors: “Reduction of UV-induced skin tumors in hairless mice by selective COX-2 inhibition” (Carcinogenesis (1999) 20 (10):1939-1944.doi: 10.1093/carcin/20.10.1939)

How to Implement Point Five:

• Take 3 teaspoons PEOs (Parent Omegas) in Fatty Acid Liquescence each day along with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil every day; AND
• Medicinal Mushrooms I use a combination of several that are ALSO combined with:
  • Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) Grifola frondosa (Maitake) Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) Agaricus blazei (Himematsutake) Coriolus versicolor (Turkey Tail) and Inonotus obliquus (Chaga); AND
• Elderberry Aronia & Bilberry Extracts; AND
• AHCC; AND
• Magnolia Officinalis Bark; AND
• Moringa Oleifera Leaf Powder
• A few others…I use a proprietary blend of all of the above that works great!

As always, this is just an OVERVIEW; I strongly suggest that one be properly tested!