Treating early-stage cancer

Even though I mostly treat aggressive, metastatic (stage 3 & 4) cancer, many people ask me what can be done to eradicate non-metastatic (stage 1 & 2) cancer, especially if they wanted to see if surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation could be avoided. My answer is, I exploit cancer’s known addiction to iron¹ by manipulating iron metabolism in cancer cells and cancer stem cells as follows:

Diet and lifestyle:

Proper diet and lifestyle lay the foundation for eradicating cancer and preventing its return. To learn more, see www.thomashealthblog.com/?p=14640.

Daily oral protocol:

1. Block cancer energy metabolism by using metformin plus syrosingopine².
2. Inhibit cancer’s two main antioxidant defense systems (glutathione and thioredoxin reductase) by using curcumin³, fenugreek⁴, and piperlongumine⁵.
3. Inhibit carbonic anhydrase 9 (CAIX) by using amiloride to acidify intracellular pH, disrupt redox homeostasis, promote thermosensitivity⁶, and increase vulnerability to ferroptosis⁷.
4. Promote ferroptosis (iron-mediated, pro-oxidative cell death) by using pentoxifylline^8,9 and simvastatin¹⁰. So as not to neglect other forms of cancer cell death, add berberine^11-15 and curcumin¹⁶ to promote apoptosis, autophagy, immunogenic cell death, necroptosis, pyroptosis, and paraptosis.
5. Promote removal of tumor debris (dead cancer cells) by using specialized pro-resolving mediators¹⁷.
6. Augment the cytotoxic effects of hyperthermia (see below) by using cinnamaldehyde (cinnamon extract)^18,19 and the immunomodulatory effects of hyperthermia by using Ganoderma lucidum (reishi extract)^20-23.

Note: To download a copy of the daily Medication & Supplement Schedule, click here.

Twice-weekly intravenous protocol:

1. Promote cancer-selective accumulation of iron ions by using low-molecular-weight iron dextran²⁴. Four hours later, this is followed by…
2. Induce ferritin-degrading ferritinophagy by using artesunate²⁵ to further promote cancer-selective accumulation of iron ions. This is immediately followed by…
3. Radiofrequency hyperthermia to selectively heat iron-loaded cancer tissue up to 47°C (116-117°F) and destroy the cancer cells without damaging normal cells²⁴. Cancer cells are vulnerable to heat. This is because they have a highly disorganized vascular structure which, unlike normal cells, have difficulty dissipating heat.

References:

1. Wang Y, Yu L, Ding J, Chen Y. Iron Metabolism in Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;20(1):95.
2. Benjamin D, Robay D, Hindupur SK, Pohlmann J, Colombi M, El-Shemerly MY, Maira SM, Moroni C, Lane HA, Hall MN. Dual Inhibition of the Lactate Transporters MCT1 and MCT4 Is Synthetic Lethal with Metformin due to NAD+ Depletion in Cancer Cells. Cell Rep. 2018 Dec 11;25(11):3047-3058.e4.
3. Sznarkowska A, Kostecka A, Meller K, Bielawski KP. Inhibition of cancer antioxidant defense by natural compounds. Oncotarget. 2017 Feb 28;8(9):15996-16016.
4. Cosialls E, El Hage R, Dos Santos L, Gong C, Mehrpour M, Hamaï A. Ferroptosis: Cancer Stem Cells Rely on Iron until “to Die for” It. Cells. 2021 Nov 2;10(11):2981.
5. Parama D, Rana V, Girisa S, Verma E, Daimary UD, Thakur KK, et al. The promising potential of piperlongumine as an emerging therapeutics for cancer. Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:323-54.
6. Lyons JC, Ross BD, Song CW. Enhancement of hyperthermia effect in vivo by amiloride and DIDS. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1993 Jan;25(1):95-103.
7. Li Z, Jiang L, Toyokuni S. Role of carbonic anhydrases in ferroptosis-resistance. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2020 Aug 15;689:108440.
8. Fuhrmann DC, Mondorf A, Beifuß J, Jung M, Brüne B. Hypoxia inhibits ferritinophagy, increases mitochondrial ferritin, and protects from ferroptosis. Redox Biol. 2020 Sep;36:101670.
9. Lee I, Boucher Y, Demhartner TJ, Jain RK. Changes in tumour blood flow, oxygenation and interstitial fluid pressure induced by pentoxifylline. Br J Cancer. 1994;69(3):492-496.
10. Jiang W, Hu JW, He XR, Jin WL, He XY. Statins: a repurposed drug to fight cancer. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Jul 24;40(1):241.
11. Yip NK, Ho WS. Berberine induces apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway in liver cancer cells. Oncol Rep. 2013 Sep;30(3):1107-12.
12. Liu J, Liu P, Xu T, et al. Berberine Induces Autophagic Cell Death in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by Inactivating AKT/mTORC1 Signaling. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2020;14:1813-1823.
13. Wang Y, Liu Y, Du X, Ma H, Yao J. The Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Berberine: A Review. Cancer Manag Res. 2020;12:695-702.
14. Liu L, Fan J, Ai G, Liu J, Luo N, Li C, Cheng Z. Berberine in combination with cisplatin induces necroptosis and apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Biol Res. 2019 Jul 18;52(1):37.
15. Zhang C, Sheng J, Li G, et al. Effects of Berberine and Its Derivatives on Cancer: A Systems Pharmacology Review. Front Pharmacol. 2020;10:1461.
16. Lee D, Kim IY, Saha S, Choi KS. Paraptosis in the anti-cancer arsenal of natural products. Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Jun;162:120-33.
17. Zhang Q, Zhu B, Li Y. Resolution of Cancer-Promoting Inflammation: A New Approach for Anticancer Therapy. Front Immunol. 2017 Feb 2;8:71.
18. Park J, Baek SH. Combination Therapy with Cinnamaldehyde and Hyperthermia Induces Apoptosis of A549 Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Cells via Regulation of Reactive Oxygen Species and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Family. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Aug 28;21(17):6229.
19. Ahn CR, Park J, Kim JE, et al. Cinnamaldehyde and Hyperthermia Co-Treatment Synergistically Induces ROS-Mediated Apoptosis in ACHN Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells. Biomedicines. 2020;8(9):357.
20. Chang CJ, Chen YY, Lu CC, Lin CS, Martel J, Tsai SH, Ko YF, Huang TT, Ojcius DM, Young JD, Lai HC. Ganoderma lucidum stimulates NK cell cytotoxicity by inducing NKG2D/NCR activation and secretion of perforin and granulysin. Innate Immun. 2014 Apr;20(3):301-11.
21. Mojadadi, Shafi et al. Immunomodulatory Effects of Ganoderma lucidum (W. Curt.:Fr.) P. Karst. (Aphyllophoromycetideae) on CD4+/CD8+ Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Breast-Cancer-Bearing Mice. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms8 (2006): 315-320.
22. Song M, Li ZH, Gu HS, Tang RY, Zhang R, Zhu YL, Liu JL, Zhang JJ, Wang LY. Ganoderma lucidum Spore Polysaccharide Inhibits the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Altering Macrophage Polarity and Induction of Apoptosis. J Immunol Res. 2021 Mar 5;2021:6696606.
23. Xia QH, Lu CT, Tong MQ, et al. Ganoderma Lucidum Polysaccharides Enhance the Abscopal Effect of Photothermal Therapy in Hepatoma-Bearing Mice Through Immunomodulatory, Anti-Proliferative, Pro-Apoptotic and Anti-Angiogenic. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:648708.
24. Chung, HJ., Kim, HJ. & Hong, ST. Iron-dextran as a thermosensitizer in radiofrequency hyperthermia for cancer treatment. Appl Biol Chem 62, 24 (2019).
25. Chen G, Guo G, Zhou X, Chen H. Potential mechanism of ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer. Oncol Lett. 2020 Jan;19(1):579-587.