How Micronutrients Can Benefit In Combatting Melanoma (Skin Cancer)

06 / 20 / 2019

With the arrival of summer, people become acutely aware of exposure to the sun, the risk of skin cancers and the importance of the use of sunscreen. Skin cancer is the most common of all types of cancers in the USA and other developed countries. Worldwide, it accounts for more than 30% of all diagnosed cancers. Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are the most common forms of skin cancers, and malignant melanoma is the most dangerous of all of them. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 96,480 new melanoma cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2019 and melanoma will be attributed as a cause of death for 7,230 people. It is estimated that one in five people will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.

The most common risk factor for skin cancers has been unprotected exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet (UV) rays. Although skin cancer has typically occurred in older adults, it is now associated with an increased use of tanning beds, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, prolonged immunosuppression, and exposure to chemical carcinogens in food and water. These factors, in addition to the unprotected sun exposure, are becoming more common contributors for skin cancers in children and young adults.

The Dr. Rath Research Institute recently published an in vivo study testing the effects of a specific combination of micronutrients (green tea extract, vitamin C, and the amino acids lysine and proline, among others) on the growth of melanoma cells that were injected into the kidney of mice. Although the kidneys are not typical organs for melanoma cell growth, tracing the fate of these cancer cells in the kidney allows a better understanding of the mechanisms of metastasis and the role of micronutrients in controlling these mechanisms. The results of our study1 showed that melanoma tumors that developed in the kidney in the control group of mice were much larger than those in the group receiving supplementation. Moreover, the metastasis in the lungs was much more suppressed in the group that received micronutrient supplementation compared to the control group.

Melanoma is the most feared skin cancer because of its aggressiveness and rapid spread to vital organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys and brain. At present the conventional treatment modalities are not effective in blocking the metastasis of melanoma. This study corroborates our previous study results which showed that our specific micronutrient combination can effectively reduce melanoma metastasis to the liver and spleen.2  The consistency of the efficacy of this micronutrient combination in suppressing various metabolic routes of metastasis is a testimony that the natural control of cancer growth and spread is possible by targeting its various cellular mechanisms at once.

Therefore, in addition to protection from over exposure to the sun and other preventative measures, micronutrient supplementation should be considered as an important additional factor to reduce the chances of developing skin cancer.

  1. Roomi MW, et al., Integrative Cancer Therapies, Jan 2019
  2. Roomi MW, et al., Biofactors. 2008;33:181-189

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