Micronutrients In Reducing Growth and Spread Of Lymphoma

09 / 03 / 2014

Every three minutes in the United States one person is diagnosed with some type of blood cancer. This includes cancers of the white blood cells (leukemia), various parts of the lymphatic system (lymphoma) and in bone marrow (myeloma). Lymphomas are cancers of the immune system affecting lymphocytes (a specific type of white blood cells) causing enlargement of lymph nodes. These enlarged lymph nodes are generally painless, unlike painful nodes in an infection. Such painless enlargements of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin areas are usually one of the initial symptoms of lymphomas, and are associated with weight loss, night fevers, and other symptoms.

There are about 731,277 people living with, or are in remission from, lymphoma in the United States. Approximately 80,000 new cases of lymphoma will be diagnosed in 2014. Ninety percent of the lymphoma cases are of the subtype non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) and 10% are of the Hodgkin’s type. Worldwide NHL is the tenth most commonly diagnosed cancer and according to the Globocan1 estimates, there were 93,518 new NHL cases diagnosed in Europe in 2012. Other than stem cell transplantation, most of the conventional approaches to treating lymphoma and leukemia have remained the same over past several years. Conventional treatment approaches include chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy, and none have drastically altered the recurrence of lymphoma or patient survival rates.

After successfully testing a micronutrient mixture in different types of cancers, we tested the combination of vitamin C, lysine, proline, green tea extract, and others micronutrients in two of the most aggressive NHL cell lines2. It is well known that the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) enzymes are the key components in promoting the growth and spread of any type of cancer. However, the exact role of MMP in lymphomas was recognized very recently, when increased MMP secretion was reported with highly aggressive NHLs. Our micronutrient combination was successful in stopping the secretion of MMP enzymes in both of the NHL cancer cell types we used, and it also blocked the cell invading capacity (100% inhibition). Moreover, the micronutrient combination induced cell death (apoptosis) in the tested NHL cells up to 100%. In another study3, we proved that these micronutrients were capable of causing significant reduction in the inflammatory markers (COX-2), thereby reducing the blood supply to the tumor (angiogenesis), and decreasing tumor growth.

September is designated as the blood cancer awareness month and fundraising campaigns are conducted to support finding a cure for blood cancers. Cancer patients develop a deficiency of multiple nutrients due to their disease and the severe side effects of the treatment. Given our research results, it is clear that micronutrient supplementation would significantly improve the treatment benefits for thousands of lymphoma patients.

  1. globocan.iarc.fr
  2. Roomi MW et al, Exp Oncol. 2009 Sep; 31 (3): 149-155
  3. Roomi MW et al Exp Oncol. 2013 Sep; 35(3):180-186.

 

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