Peter Dearman's List: cancer - pancreatic

• The Weekly World News is the source of the information for this treatment.

• With the Kelmun protocol the maple syrup cannot get the baking soda past the digestive tract because there is no chemical way for maple syrup and baking soda to chemically bind. Furthermore, even if there was a way, there are still serious problems.  

    First, getting the baking soda past the digestive tract does not create a localized area of high concentrations of baking soda.  

    It is NOT advisable to create a wide area of a high concentration of baking soda because the blood must remain at a constant pH.  

    Furthermore, human blood already contains some baking soda. The baking soda acts as a buffer for acids.  

    Human blood must remain at a constant pH or else the person may die. It is not wise to tamper with this pH. Baking soda already in the blood is used by the body to keep the blood from becoming too acidic.

• TumorX Enzyme Protocol addresses the body’s deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, one of the control systems that keeps a healthy individual cancer free. The enzymes act as a scavenger looking for defective cells.
    Co-Q10 gives a woman with breast cancer a 1 in 6 chance of complete remission in 4 months. The key is to take high quality Co-Q10 in proper dosages. This will stimulate the killer T-cells and allow the body to naturally destroy the cancer.

• We found that retinoid treatment results in inhibition of growth, induction of cellular differentiation and decreased adhesion to certain components of the extracellular matrix, all features compatible with a "less malignant" phenotype. Furthermore, retinoids act synergistically antiproliferative when combined with interferon-.

• Current chemotherapeutic strategies are generally ineffective
• vitamin A was shown to have anti-tumour activity
• retinoic acids and other retinoid-related compounds cause growth inhibition, accompanied by induction of differentiation and/or apoptosis
• Responsiveness to retinoids in pancreatic cancer cells has previously been reported
• enhance the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents in these cells
• retinoids activating RARs, and RAR- in particular, induce apoptosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells

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• Research has shown that L-Glutamine helps to maintain normal function of the entire G.I. tract including the liver and the pancreas.
• The G.I. tract is lined with a large number of immune cells along its length. In order to work properly, these immune cells need proper nourishment in the form of nitrogen. L-Glutamine provides this nourishment to the immune cells.

• In relation to cancer, it seems that a supplementation of glutamine in the diet may be beneficial for several reasons. Tumor progression is associated with an avid consumption of host glutamine by tumor cells and a depression in the activity of natural killer cells due to a decrease in glutathione concentrations in these cells. Therefore, dietary supplementation of glutamine could have the beneficial effect of restoring the levels of glutathione inside natural killer cells; at the same time, however, it could have the deleterious effect of feeding the tumor. However, because glutamine consumption by tumors is almost absolutely dissipative, an increase in the growth rate of the tumor due to this process should not be expected (Austgen et al. 1992 , Medina and Núñez de Castro 1990 ). In fact, there are experimental data that seem to indicate that a dietary supplement diminishes tumor growth by restoring the function of natural killer cells and improves protein metabolism of the host or patient (Fahr et al. 1994 , Yoshida et al. 1995 ).
• Several groups have shown that glutamine can also protect against oxidative damage induced by radiotherapy
• no consensus on the usefulness of glutamine supplementation for cancer patients. For instance, a recent double-blind, randomized study on glutamine supplementation in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy concluded that glutamine did not have a significant effect on either tumor response or secondary effects of chemotherapy

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• While elevated CA 19-9 levels occur in most patients with carcinoma of the pancreas, it can also be elevated in patients with extrapancreatic malignancies and acute cholangitis. This case illustrates the fact that a markedly elevated CA 19-9 can be secondary to causes other than carcinoma.

• Courvoisier sign defines the presence of jaundice and a painlessly distended gallbladder as strongly indicative of pancreatic cancer, and may be used to distinguish pancreatic cancer from gallstones.
• CA19-9 (carbohydrate antigen 19.9) is a tumor marker that is frequently elevated in pancreatic cancer. However, it lacks sensitivity and specificity. When a cutoff above 37 U/mL is used, this marker has a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 87% in discerning benign from malignant disease. CA 19-9 might be normal early in the course, and could be elevated due to benign causes of biliary obstruction.
• biopsy, which is necessary to establish a definitive diagnosis.

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• 33% in the case of obstructive jaundice, does not allow adequate preoperative differentiation between cancer patients and those with chronic pancreatitis.

• This tumor marker has also been   used to differentiate benign from malignant diseases of the pancreas.   However, significant elevations of CA 19-9 levels in the absence of   pancreatic malignancy have also been reported.
• This case illustrates a marked elevation of CA 19-9 due to an infectious   process in a patient with a pancreatic mass suggestive of malignancy.

• What other procedures will my doctor likely order along with my CA 19-9? <!-- image if not empty -->   Your doctor may order a CT scan (computed tomography), an ultrasound, an MRCP (using an MRI scan to look at the pancreatic and bile ducts), an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, a procedure in which a small lighted tube is passed through the mouth and stomach into the small intestine and then into the bile and pancreatic ducts), and/or a biopsy to look for cancer cells under the microscope.

• Its main use is as a tumor marker:    
    
    
  • to help differentiate between cancer of the pancreas and bile ducts and other non-cancerous conditions, such as pancreatitis;    
  • to monitor a patient's response to pancreatic cancer treatment; and   
  • to watch for pancreatic cancer recurrence.

• Guidelines from the American Society of Clinical Oncology discourage the use of CA19-9 as a test for cancer, particularly pancreatic cancer. The reason is that the test may be falsely normal (false negative) in many cases, or abnormally elevated in people who have no cancer at all (false positive). The main use of CA19-9 is therefore to see whether a pancreatic tumor is secreting it; if that is the case, then the levels should fall when the tumor is treated, and they may rise again if the disease recurs.

• When someone has cancer, no matter where the malignant tumor shows up, it is   vital that they consume foods whose enzymes have not been killed. That means   eating an abundance of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts.
• enzymes that digest protein play a key role   in halting the growth of cancer cells. It’s no wonder that virtually every   alternative cancer treatment program encourages patients to stop eating   animal products and to eat more raw enzyme-rich fruits and vegetables. When   someone has cancer, if they continue eating a daily diet of animal products   (meat, chicken, fish, dairy, etc.), these hard to digest foods greatly   challenge an already overworked pancreas.
• One such food that is especially helpful in this   regard is the papaya and papaya seeds; another is pineapple. Both fruits   contain enzymes (papain and bromelain, respectively) that are similar to the   protein digesting enzymes made by the pancreas. Another extremely beneficial   food is sprouts (bean sprouts, broccoli sprouts). They are a rich source of   beneficial enzymes and other nutrients that are known to suppress cancerous   activity. Protein digesting enzymes are particularly important in that they   can dissolve the protein coating that forms around all cancer cells, and   this enables the immune system to finally ‘see’ the cancer cells and target   them for destruction. These foods also make the body chemistry less acidic   and thus a lot less conducive for cancerous activity. (See Barbara   Simonsohn’s book, “Healing Power of Papaya”, copyright 2000).

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• those who ate two or more servings of whole grains per day had a 40 percent lower risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who ate less than one serving daily.
• Those who ate two or more servings per week of donuts or cooked breakfast cereals had a higher risk of pancreatic cancer than those who ate less than one serving per month.

• Beattie gives numerous accounts of people surviving pancreatic cancer by natural treatments. She states that these treatments are not covered by the FDA and usually not patentable by drug companies, resulting in low knowledge among doctors.
• complete remission of aggressive, stage IV cancers that had metastasized.
• despite the fact that the creators of the treatments listed in her book are respected health scientists, few of the treatments have been formally evaluated in human clinical trials

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• (EGCG), a polyphenolic compound from green tea, inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cells.
• EGCG inhibits pancreatic cancer growth, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis, and thus could be used for the management of pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment.

• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy produce only minor increases in survival rates.
• saturated fats and oils
• meat, and dairy products
• fried foods, carbohydrates, cholesterol, salt, nitrites
• Creating a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, bicarbonate, and bile
• Impairing the use of pancreatic enzymes
• Each day, the exocrine tissue secretes about 2 liters of bicarbonate (a buffer) to neutralize stomach acid in the small intestine. Reduced bicarbonate levels create an acidic microenvironment that weakens the activity of pancreatic enzymes.
• antacids, alkaline diet, and essential fatty acids may be beneficial in treating pancreatic cancer (Nakamura T et al 1995; Ohta T et al 1996; Ravichandran D et al 1998).
• In pancreatic cancer cells, antioxidant levels are much lower compared to those in non-cancerous pancreatic cells.
• foods that elevate after-meal blood sugar levels are associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk in individuals with insulin resistance
• Daidzein, a phytoestrogen found in soybeans, chickpeas, and dietary supplements, has been shown to slow the growth of pancreatic cell lines (Guo JM et al 2004).
• In a clinical study, low levels of lycopene, retinol, and beta-carotene were strongly associated with pancreatic cancer
• Tomatoes are a rich dietary source of lycopene, which is also available as a dietary supplement
• olive oil had a comparatively more favorable impact on pancreatic cancer risk than did other types of fats
• Compared to other major types of cancer, pancreatic cancer evinces a loss of activity of genes known to suppress tumor development

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