Taking a holistic approach to cancer - part 1

Dr Sophie and Fiona discuss:

• Taking vitamins / supplements while in treatment • Chinese herbs and UK oncology • Dr Sophie’s blood tests in clinic • Do B vitamins play a protective role? • Vitamin C • Vitamin D • Bromelain • Essiac • Laetrile • Dame Deborah James • Turmeric • Ginger • Selenium • Garlic • Green tea • Vitamin E • Iodine • The immune system • Functional mushrooms / adaptogens • Soy (and the breast cancer discussion) • NAD+ • Glutamine

The podcast is for entertainment / information purposes only.

Always seek medical advice from a registered doctor.

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Dr Sophie and Fiona mention a few studies – all the links are here (press ‘episode website’ for the full list):

In December 2019, a study of over 1,000 women with breast cancer found that certain nutritional supplements could reduce women’s chance of survival and even increase the chance that breast cancer would recur after treatment. The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and led by scientists at the SWOG cancer research institute.

The main findings were:

• Patients who reported taking any antioxidant - vitamins A, C, E plus carotenoids and Coenyzme Q10 - were 41% more likely to have their breast cancer return when they took the supplements both before and during chemotherapy treatment.

• Patients had a similar, but weaker, increased risk of death when taking those antioxidants.

• Patients taking vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acid supplements were at significantly greater risk of breast cancer recurrence and loss of life.

• Patients taking multivitamins showed no signs of poorer or better outcomes after chemotherapy.

• But it found no evidence that taking multivitamins or vitamin D is harmful.

Half a million people were behind Johns Hopkins research which concluded that multivitamins did not decrease the risk of cancer, heart disease or help with any cognitive decline. But there are other studies that state the exact opposite – more research and data is needed.

Dr Bav Shergill of the British Association of Dermatologists has suggested oral niacinamide (vitamin B3) might reduce the rates of some types of non-melanoma skin cancer (as well as reduce skin redness and uneven pigmentation). Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9125143/

In one study, fish oil was shown to possibly reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2212208

According to some research folate and other B vitamins like B12 might offset increased risk of cancer in people who drink alcohol. Again, more research is needed.

Cancer Research UK cites two studies suggesting vitamin C’s potential as a cancer treatment. However, the researchers were injecting [either mice or cancer patients] with very high doses of vitamin C – much higher than you could get from food or supplements directly. The results tentatively support the idea that high-dose vitamin C has potential as a cancer treatment. But it’s far from clear-cut because other studies suggest vitamin C could interfere with some anti-cancer drugs, with one study showing it may even stop the anti-breast cancer drug tamoxifen. So far, we don’t have enough quality research. One study is here: https://jeccr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13046-021-02134-y

Research continues to look at the role of vitamin D in the development and recurrence of different cancers. Some early studies suggest that there is a link between low levels of vitamin D and the development of cancer.

One study found that vitamin K2 was effective at inhibiting the pro-inflammatory iNOS in the spinal cord and the brain immune system (this was in rats that had multiple sclerosis symptoms). Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16146654

Note: MK-4 is thought to play a role in cancer protection and sexual health.

Laboratory and animal studies have showed that bromelain might reduce inflammation for certain skin conditions and even osteoporosis. Some studies show that bromelain might prevent or treat certain cancers and that it might stop them from growing. Very limited data available.

Several studies and reviews found that Essiac had no anti cancer effects. Likewise there’s no reliable scientific evidence to show that laetrile or amygdalin can help treat cancer.

The main active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin or diferuloyl methane. Laboratory studies have shown curcumin seems to be able to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing. There have been some clinical trials looking at curcumin in people with colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and other cancer types. It’s best to take it with black pepper to increase absorption.

In 2006, researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer found that ginger not only killed ovarian cancer cells, it also prevented them from building up resistance to cancer treatment. More research is needed.

Too much selenium can be toxic, but doses as high as 300 micrograms (mcg) have been shown to reduce certain kinds of cancer, including lung, liver and colon. Read more here: https://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/nutrition/how-selenium-helps-protect-against-cancer

One trial showed that selenium might protect against the overall risk of prostate cancer in men with a history of non melanoma skin cancer. However a later systematic review found that selenium supplements had no benefit. In fact, some randomised controlled trials showed a higher incidence of high grade prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes in people taking selenium. So research in this area has produced very mixed results.

There are some studies that suggest garlic has properties that block the activation of cancer-causing substances and reduce the growth of cancer cells.

There are several studies that show the compounds in green tea could help protect against certain kinds of cancer. It contains chemicals called polyphenols that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. But green tea does have antioxidant properties so you do really need to check with your oncology team. Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142888/

Studies show vitamin E can decrease the risk of prostate, colon, and lung cancers. In fact, low amounts of vitamin E is shown to increase the risk of cancer. Again, be careful with taking antioxidants while in active cancer treatment. Read more here: https://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/nutrition/how-vitamin-e-helps-protect-against-cancer

There are theories around other supplements such as iodine.

Adaptogenic mushrooms and herbs have been shown to have a balancing effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-endocrine axis. This controls hundreds of pathways that are responsible for inflammation. And because chronic inflammation is linked to cancer (along with many other health issues), adaptogenic mushrooms have potential (though as yet unproven) benefit. Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4396833/

There are several studies that show impressive results with cancer patients – including shiitake, himematsutake - also known as God’s mushroom, chaga, maitake, and turkey tail (which also has data to help SIBO and candida / yeast overgrowth).

Current research says that foods containing natural isoflavones are safe. Early studies show that isoflavones may have some benefits in certain cancers. In breast and prostate cancer isoflavones may actually reduce the risk of cancer coming back. This is because isoflavones are similar to the hormone oestrogen and bind to the oestrogen receptors on cells. By doing so, it blocks cancer cells from absorbing oestrogen.

While there is no research to show NAD+ can cause cancer, studies show if you cut off the NAD+ supply cancer cells die. The same applies to glucose and oxygen - but this does not mean glucose, oxygen or NAD+ cause cancer, nor is it a sensible approach to restrict any of these critical molecules.

There appears to be a link between glutamine and cancer. On the flip side, glutamine supplementation may improve the overall outcome of certain cancer cases. In fact, glutamine is believed to be such an important part of tumour progression that some researchers have studied it as a potential cancer treatment. It has great potential for immune-enhancing effects which may, in part, be because glutamine acts as primary fuel in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that helps