All Things Biology

Cancer is a word no one ever wants to hear whether from the mouth of a doctor or a loved one. It’s a scary thing so it’s no wonder that every year thousands of pounds are poured into research surrounding the newest drugs and therapies to slow and defeat this disease. Every year, however, thousands of people around the world refuse or stop pharmaceutical treatment in favour of holistic or ‘natural’ treatment options. These treatments are often met with ridicule from the scientific community, but some may hold merit, and every year ‘miracle cases’ emerge that baffle the medical world and beg the question: can we naturally cure cancer?

In this article, I’m going to investigate what is the truth and what is just a myth.

Miraculous recoveries:

Cancer is a disease that affects millions of people every year, but millions more can remain unaffected their entire lives. Is it possible that some of these people are not just lucky but may actually be completely immune to cancer? It is a well-known statistic that 80-90% of smokers never get lung cancer but 80-90% of lung cancer cases are smokers (1). Whilst this number is still 30x higher than that of the general population, it really does put into perspective how amazing the human body can be at battling even the most carcinogenic substances and preventing cancer from taking hold.

Whilst there is no known case of an individual 100% immune to all cancers, a lucky 1/100,000 cancer patients recover from cancer without any medical intervention at all. In other words, their body fight off the cancer on its own. This is particularly the case with the disease neuroblastoma, where it is so common in infants to go into remission before treatment, that doctors will hold off on chemotherapy in cases of children under 1. (2)

Of course, for most individuals, the prospect of a doctor telling you to ‘sit and wait’ for your cancer to go away is less than ideal, but if we can induce our own body to fight or eradicate cancer cells without external intervention, this is obviously an ideal alternative to harsh and vigorous medical treatment regimes.

One such miracle recovery occurred in a Colorado man, when he saw a spontaneous disappearance of his stage 4 brain cancer. He attributes this cure to stopping western medicine and moving to a healing centre in Brazil. Another such case is of a woman from Ohio that credits her miracle cure to acupuncture and a faith healer that prays for her. (3)

Of course, any treatment that is non-invasive and comforting to the patient is surely a preferred option, but how likely is it that these miracle stories are true? And what does the Western world of medicine have to say about it?

What causes these spontaneous regressions?

All cancers are vastly different and so the mechanisms for each individual case of spontaneous recovery vary widely if they are ever found at all, but the most commonly mentioned suspect is infection. It may sound counterproductive but kicking the body into a febrile (feverous) state cannot only cause an inhospitable environment for the tumour cells, but kickstart a whole range of autoimmune responses that ultimately lead to tumour cell death and subsequent regression. (4)

Infecting tumours or cancer sites was actually a common practice when trying to cure cancer before the invention of modern therapies, although often risking the life of the patient through sepsis. In the 17 and 18 hundreds, wounds were commonly left open and septic dressing were applied to promote infection. In 1891 surgeon William Coley developed Coley’s toxin, an injectable concoction of microorganisms that infects the tumour and induces an infection. He specifically noted that the fever was vital for the cure to work, especially in the long term, and that the fever itself could actually lessen the pain of patients, leading to a reduction in the request for pain medication. This cure was used up until 1980 after which the standardisation, replication and efficacy of the results were called into question as this cure had been developed over 100 years prior without proper clinical trials or approval. This toxin however, has been shown to promote tumour necrosis (death) factors, interleukins (a cytokine that plays an essential role in immune cell activation) and interferons (proteins that strengthen the body’s anti-virus defences), all of which are important in the tumour’s regression and allow for the body’s natural defences to reach inoperable tumour sites. (4)

It really leaves you to wonder why this form of cancer treatment is not being more thoroughly explored and brought back into modern cancer treatments, as it can now be modernized and carried out ethically and scientifically.

Of course, it really depends on your definition of natural. Whether you consider inducing a fever to be a naturalist approach, especially since most of the applications used by doctors over the years are presented as essentially ‘vaccinating’ your tumour. 

Holistic cures:

Returning to these miracle stories and claims, can your mindset really improve or even cure your cancer?

A study in 2019 titled ‘Targeting Mindsets, not just tumours’ (5), seems to think so. The mind is a complicated and elusive concept that is vastly understudied in the cancer world, especially considering that depression and anxiety are 2-3 times more common in cancer patients than in the general population. It has been scientifically confirmed that the mental state and the physiological state are closely intertwined, just think about the effects of stress on weight fluctuations for example. A positive mindset towards a diagnosis can motivate patients to try new treatments, eat right, exercise more where possible and also remain calmer throughout the treatment and diagnostic process, maintaining a regular heartbeat and a lack of high amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone). A 2023 paper testing the subject, reported that after psychological intervention using a series of films of cancer survivors and reflective questions, their health-related quality of life significantly improved physically, emotionally and socially, whilst also showing an increase in adaptive coping behaviours and reducing general distress (6). It is very unlikely that a positive attitude can ever stop or even significantly slow cancer progression, but it definitely cannot be dismissed as an important element to be used in conjunction with Western medicine techniques that may help improve a patient’s long-term outcomes.

Addressing some of the other claims on holistic cancer treatment:

Acupuncture has shown no evidence in helping treat or cure cancer according to Cancer Research UK, but can help alleviate symptoms and pain, and is actually administered in many cancer hospitals and treatment centres across the UK. (7)

Milk Thistle, a plant that has been used medicinally for many years, is another common but mostly ineffective cancer treatment, however, its full effects have yet to be observed or properly studied. It is not harmful so anyone is welcome to take it for whatever benefits they believe it might possess, but it has shown significant benefits to liver and kidney function, as well as reducing radiodermatitis, so who knows the full capabilities of this plant and what role it might play in slowing or reducing tumours. (8)

An alternative, perhaps more effective edible cure is Turmeric. Studies have shown that it may be a promising treatment, especially when used in combination with chemotherapy, potentially causing treatment to be more successful overall. More research needs to be conducted on the topic, and it does have some slight health risks, but overall it has been proven to kill cancer cells and prevent new ones growing in the lab. (9)

One last promising therapy I would like to talk about is resveratrol, which has been shown in the lab to have cytotoxic (killing) effects against an impressive number of cancers, disrupting cell growth at various stages through its signalling pathways, and in some cases even causing apoptosis (cell suicide) or complete prevention of tumour initiating activity, meaning it may prevent certain cancers forming in the first place (10). Now this is obviously a chemical name so why is it under holistic cures? Well, resveratrol is actually naturally found in peanuts, grapes, red wine, blueberries, raspberries, apples and soy, and many stores even sell it as a supplement. As an added benefit, resveratrol has also been shown to improve heart health, fertility, vision-related impairments, lung health, brain health, muscle recovery and health, kidney health and can increase insulin in the pancreas and hence is useful in treating type 2 diabetes. You might think, as I did, why are we not given huge doses of this miracle supplement from birth if it has so many amazing effects? The reality is, unfortunately, it can be toxic if taken in too high a dose. It also has a low bioavailability, which means that not very much of it is absorbed into the body when consumed, and therefore, it is impossible to consume the recommended therapeutic dose through your diet, although will still deliver many minor health benefits (11). All in all, this compound deserves more dedicated research to potentially harness the full power of its curative characteristics and utilise these in future therapies.

Of course, it goes without saying that none of these cures are equal to or as studied as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and it is advised to consult your doctor before attempting to try any of these therapies, but to find out more visit https://about-cancer.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies to read about other alternative therapies and their effects.

The truth is , as of yet there is no way to induce the body naturally and with 100% efficacy into remission but these cases prove there is still hope. As with most science, discoveries and cures come from observing and combining things we find in the world around us, so, it is the hope of the scientific community to replicate and learn from these cases to push cancer treatment into the future.

Written By Lily Hunter

References:

1.        What Percentage of Smokers Get Lung Cancer? [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-percentage-of-smokers-get-lung-cancer-2248868

2.        Cancer: The mysterious miracle cases inspiring doctors [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150306-the-mystery-of-vanishing-cancer

3.        Book review of Cured: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing by Jeffrey Rediger – The Washington Post [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/miracle-cures-that-hold-lessons-for-western-medicine/2020/03/05/93056b22-49f4-11ea-bdbf-1dfb23249293_story.html

4.        Spontaneous regression of tumour and the role of microbial infection – possibilities for cancer treatment – PMC [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4777220/

5.        Targeting Mindsets, Not Just Tumors – PMC [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7059887/

6.        Changing cancer mindsets: A randomized controlled feasibility and efficacy trial – Zion – 2023 – Psycho-Oncology – Wiley Online Library [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pon.6194

7.        Acupuncture | Complementary and alternative therapy | Cancer Research UK [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/acupuncture

8.        Milk thistle | Complementary and Alternative therapies | Cancer Research UK [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://about-cancer.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/milk-thistle-and-liver-cancer?_gl=1*1y3losd*_ga*MTkwMzk3NTAzNi4xNzA4MTc2ODQ0*_ga_58736Z2GNN*MTcxMDY5NTU5OC4zLjEuMTcxMDY5NTY1My41LjAuMA

9.        Turmeric | Complementary and alternative therapy | Cancer Research UK [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://about-cancer.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/turmeric

10.      The Role of Resveratrol in Cancer Therapy – PMC [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5751192/

11.      Resveratrol: How Much Wine Do You Have to Drink to Stay Healthy? – PMC [Internet]. [cited 2024 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4942868/