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Lung Cancer

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Few words can cause such fear and anxiety. Whether the cancer is associated with smoking (bronchogenic) or not (adenocarcinoma), the survival statistics are not good.

In 2010, the CDC recorded the following statistics[i]:

And in 2012, the SEER database reported that 160,340 Americans died of lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States, both for men and for women.[ii] Those with localized disease at diagnosis have a better survival rate at 5 years (52.2%) than those with metastatic disease (3.7%), but the figures are still pretty discouraging.

Two major types of lung cancer are diagnosed:

NatlCancerInst The National Cancer Institute database has excellent articles on conventional diagnosis and treatment recommendations for both Non-Small Cell and Small-Cell lung cancer.

Conventional treatments have not been spectacularly successful for lung cancer, whether of the bronchogenic smoking-associated or the adenocarcinoma not associated with smoking. In a study of four different chemotherapy regimens published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002[iii], the median one-year survival was 33% and 2-year survival was 11%. One regimen (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) did show significantly longer survival, but with severe kidney toxicity because of the high doses of the platinum-based chemotherapy.

So... are there any alternatives to the conventional treatment?

A recent paper by Dr. Lasalvia-Prisco discusses the necessary conditions for cancer survival and progression:

"Chemotherapy aims to control the number and proliferation of cancer cells, but it does not effectively control the two best-known conditions of the tumor-permissive environment: neoangiogenesis and tolerogenic immunity."[iv] The patients in this study showed significant increase in survival when treated with the addition of anti-angiogenesis therapies and a tumor vaccine.

In recent years efforts are being made in conventional oncology to exploit the body's immune system by forcing the dendritic (otherwise known as antigen-presenting) cells to complex with various cancer-produced proteins, in an effort to stimulate the body to produce antigens to the tumor. These efforts have been greeted with incomplete success, largely because the cancer cells are so quick to mutate. The vaccine that works this month may be totally ineffective next month. Nevertheless, cancer vaccines have been shown to have some success, resulting in increased survival times.[v], [vi]

Of course, none of the patients in these studies was advised to do anything about diet or lifestyle, and these variables were not controlled for. And the vaccines were made to work against the solid tumor with which the patients were initially diagnosed, not against the circulating tumor cells which result in metastatic disease.

At the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine, we use a combination of modalities to treat our patients.

The quality of life during treatment is good. Almost all of our patients (unless they have had prior conventional chemotherapy) keep their hair, maintain their blood counts, and improve their physical function and well-being within a very short time of starting therapy. Our Integrative Cancer Treatment can improve your health and induce long term remission of disease.

Contact Information

Office: 8841 E Bell Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Tel: (480) 240-2600
Fax: (480) 240-2601
Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm

Call us to make an appointment to tour the Center and meet the staff. Contact Us

[i] http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/statistics/ Downloaded 11/2/2013

[ii] Siegel R, Naishadham D, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin. 2012 Jan-Feb;62(1):10-29. doi: 10.3322/caac.20138.

[iii] Schiller JH, Harrington D, Belani CP, Langer C, Sandler A, Krook J, Zhu J, Johnson DH. Comparison of Four Chemotherapy Regimens for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2002 Jan 10;346(2):92-8.

[iv] Lasalvia-Prisco E, Goldschmidt P, Galmarini F, Cucchi S, Vázquez J, Aghazarian M, Lasalvia-Galante E, Golomar W, Gordon W. Addition of an induction regimen of antiangiogenesis and antitumor immunity to standard chemotherapy improves survival in advanced malignancies. Med Oncol. 2012 December; 29(5): 3626-3633. doi: 10.1007/s12032-012-0301-1

[v] Lasalvia-Prisco E, Cucchi S, Vázquez J, Lasalvia-Galante E, Golomar W, Gordon W. Antitumoral effect of a vaccination procedure with an autologous hemoderivative. Cancer Biol Ther. 2003 Mar-Apr;2(2):155-60.

[vi] Epple LM, Bemis LT, Cavanaugh RP, Skope A, Mayer-Sonnenfeld T, Frank C, Olver CS, Lencioni AM, Dusto NL, Tal A, Har-Noy M, Lillehei KO, Katsanis E, Graner MW. Prolonged remission of advanced bronchoalveolar adenocarcinoma in a dog treated with autologous, tumour-derived chaperone-rich cell lysate (CRCL) vaccine. Int J Hyperthermia. 2013 Aug;29(5):390-8. doi: 10.3109/02656736.2013.800997.