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LE Magazine February 2003
The Hidden
Cancer Epidemic
Just a few years ago, the government released an optimistic
report stating that the rate of cancer was leveling off or
declining. In 2002, the National Cancer Institute disclosed
that the data used to prepare this report was seriously
flawed.1,2 According to the
National Cancer Institute, the incidences for some of the most
deadly cancers are sharply increasing.
The American Cancer Association responded to these stunning
statistics by urging that more research be devoted to
ascertain why prevention programs are failing.
What has become strikingly apparent is that the most
respected cancer institutions are clueless to explain why more
Americans than ever before are contracting cancer.
Regrettably, most cancer cases occur needlessly. Thousands
of published scientific findings provide a clear roadmap as to
what one can do to reduce their cancer risk. The problem is
that consumers are overwhelmed by the volume of cancer
prevention data and have largely failed to take the necessary
steps to protect themselves.
One mission of The Life Extension Foundation is to catalog
research findings and translate them into easy-to-follow
protocols. This enables members to take advantage of all the
published knowledge about how to prevent cancer and other
diseases.
In this month's issue, we discuss fundamental reasons for
why so many people are contracting cancer. We then suggest
relatively simple lifestyle changes that can help keep normal
cells from transforming into malignant ones.
The medical establishment admits its
failures
Despite enormous research dollars committed to finding a
cure for cancer, very little improvement in survival has
occurred over the past 50 years against most cancers.
It is well known that chemotherapy drugs have a high rate
of failure. This was brought out in the January 10, 2002 issue
of the New England Journal of Medicine,3 where it was noted that 20 years of
clinical trials using chemotherapy on advanced lung cancer
have yielded survival improvement of only two months. This
editorial pointed out that while new chemotherapy regimens
appear to be improving survival, when these same regimens are
tested on a wider range of cancer patients, the results have
been disappointing. In other words, oncologists at a single
institution may obtain a 40% to 50% response rate in a tightly
controlled study, but when these same chemotherapy drugs are
administered in the real world setting, response rates decline
to only 17% to 27%.
In fairness, we should point out that certain types of
cancer are responding better now to chemotherapy compared to
30 years ago. These include lymphomas (Hodgkins, non-Hodgkin's
and Burkitt's), multiple myeloma, hairy cell leukemia, chronic
lymphocytic and certain other types of leukemia. Depending on
the timing of treatment, some institutions are also seeing
better results with breast and early-stage lung cancer.
While there have been successes against particular cancers,
for many other types, the prognosis has not changed much since
1950. This fact was brought out in a study published in the
June 14, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association.4 According to this
study, the five-year survival rate for most forms of cancer
was the same in 1995 as they were in 1950. The title of this
study was "Are Increasing 5-Year Survival Rates Evidence of
Success Against Cancer?" The answer was no! This study showed
that the only reason more cancer patients are living longer
than five-years is because of earlier diagnosis. The authors
of this study stated that the ability of medicine to
effectively treat most cancers was no better than it was in
1950. Previous observers and commentators conveyed the same
disappointing data.5,7
The fastest growing type of cancer
Over the past 25 years, the incidence of esophageal cancer
(of the adenocarcinoma type) has increased 350%, faster than
any other malignancy in the western world.8 One study showed that esophageal
adenocarcinoma cases are increasing 5% to 10% each year in
developed countries. Another study showed that the rate of
esophageal adenocarcinoma increased eight-fold over a 20-year
period in Denmark.9
These increased rates are strongly related to
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). One study looked at
possible risk factors and concluded that severe reflux
symptoms (heartburn), male sex and obesity, may identify
patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease who are at the
greatest risk for the development of esophageal
adenocarcinoma.10
The two common forms of esophageal cancer are squamous cell
carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Risk factors for the squamous
cell type of esophageal cancer include use of tobacco,
moderate to heavy alcohol ingestion and infrequent consumption
of raw fruits and vegetables.9 The
primary risk factor for the more difficult-to-treat
adenocarcinoma directly relates to those who suffer heartburn
(gastroesophageal reflux). It is the adenocarcinoma type of
esophageal cancer that is exponentially increasing in
prevalence.
These grim statistics have motivated The Life Extension
Foundation to develop specific strategies to protect against
esophageal adenocarcinoma. Until the formal protocol is
published, members are advised to follow lifestyle changes
that keep bile, acids, enzymes and food in the stomach and out
of the esophagus. Some of these approaches involve eating
several small meals throughout the day instead of one big
meal, elevating the head end of the bed six to nine inches,
losing weight and avoiding eating four hours before bedtime.
The long-term use of stomach acid suppressing drugs is not
recommended. An updated Esophageal Reflux Protocol will be
available within the next few months.
In the meantime, there is some encouraging news. Two very
recent studies indicate that common vitamin supplements lower
esophageal adenocarcinoma risk. The first study looked at a
group of German esophageal cancer cases and compared them to
age-matched healthy controls. The findings showed that vitamin
E, vitamin C, folic acid, beta-carotene supplements
significantly reduced the risk of both adenocarcinoma and
squamous cell esophageal cancers. In this study, the use of a
vitamin C supplement was associated with a 66% reduction,
whereas vitamin E supplementation reduced esophageal cancer
risk by an astounding 87%!11
The second study evaluated a group of esophageal cancer
cases residing in Nebraska and compared them to a control
group. The findings revealed a 50% reduction in esophageal
adenocarcinoma incidence in those who consumed the highest
levels of vitamin A, folic acid, zinc, vitamin B2 and other
nutrients.12
While these studies are encouraging to vitamin supplement
users, they should not be used as an excuse to ignore the
lifestyle changes needed to mitigate the effects of
gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). The most significant risk
factor for developing adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is GERD,
and The Life Extension Foundation is designing the world's
most comprehensive program to protect those suffering with
chronic GERD (heartburn) from developing esophageal
cancer.
What causes cancer
All cancers are caused by gene mutations.13 This simple fact is obscured by the
publicity given to specific agents like cigarette smoke that
cause cancer by inflicting mutations to genes. Cigarette smoke
mutates genes, which can later manifest as cancer in some
people. Those who quit smoking have higher rates of lung
cancer later in life because the body is not always able to
repair the initial gene mutation inflicted by the cigarette
smoke.
There are many factors involved in gene mutation including
exposure to sunlight, medical x-rays and dietary carcinogens.
The aging process itself results in gene mutation, which helps
explain why the risk of cancer increases as we grow older.
Most people have a difficult time grasping the complexities
of genes and their relationship to cancer. The following
one-sentence definition explains this in the simplest of
terms:
"Cancer results from the
accumulation of mutations in genes that regulate cellular
proliferation."
The New England Journal of
Medicine, November 23, 2000, "Roads Leading to Breast
Cancer."14
Genes regulate cell proliferation. When genes become
mutated, normal cell regulatory processes are disrupted. If
too many genes involved in regulating cell proliferation
become mutated, the cells lose control over their own growth
rate. Cancer is a disease characterized by rapidly propagating
cells that expand locally by invasion and systemically by
metastasis.
Once one understands this basic concept, it becomes
apparent that if we are to prevent cancer from developing in
our bodies, every practical step must be taken to maintain
gene integrity. Gene mutations can turn healthy cells into
malignant cells. As gene mutations accumulate, the risk of
cancer sharply increases.
Preventing gene mutations
It is not possible to prevent all gene mutations.
Fortunately, cells possess repair mechanisms that protect
against most cancer-causing gene mutations.15,16
There is a limit, however, to the number of gene mutations
that can be repaired. That is why avoiding second-hand
cigarette smoke, unnecessary x-rays, excess ethanol and known
dietary carcinogens is so important.
The most prevalent cause of environmental genetic mutation
is the food we eat everyday. Life Extension has reported
extensively on particularly dangerous foods such as
over-cooked meats and fish that are loaded with gene-mutating
heterocyclic amines. Unfortunately, the list of gene-mutating
foods keeps growing, as scientists expose the fact that
processed foods (designed for taste and convenience) are
incredibly dangerous.
As noted earlier in this article, the prevalence of cancer
continues to increase at a frightening pace. Smoking rates,
however, have declined drastically since the 1950s. The
increased rate of cancer points to other sources of gene
mutation, with the increased consumption of the wrong kinds of
foods being a prime suspect.
Over the past 12 months, The National Cancer Institute has
issued an exceptionally large number of press releases urging
Americans to consume at least five servings of fresh fruits
and vegetables each day.17,18 The
evidence that consumption of different types and colors of
fruits-vegetables reduces cancer risk is irrefutable.
Scientists have identified dozens of cancer-preventing
constituents in plants including indole-3-carbinol, folic
acid, bioflavonoids, lycopene, sulforaphane and lutein. The
most effective anti-mutagenic agent identified to date is
chlorophyll, which is found in green vegetables.
It is difficult for most people to consume the variety and
quantity of fruits-vegetables recommended by the National
Cancer Institute. Dietary supplements that contain
standardized potencies of these cancer-preventing plant
extracts have become extremely popular amongst Life Extension
members.
A number of dietary carcinogens inflict their gene mutating
effects by causing excessive free radical generation.
Antioxidants help protect against gene mutation by
neutralizing free radicals. It is more important, however, to
inactivate gene-mutating carcinogens before they form free
radicals. This is why supplements like chlorophyll
(chlorophyllin) are so promising as cancer prevention
agents.
Continued on Page 2 of
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