Treatments For Pancreatic Cancer
Herbs, Supplements and Prescription Drugs as Experimental Therapies
Apr 24, 2009
For most people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the prognosis has been grim. Other forms of the cancer come with slightly better odds, but by far the most common form, adenocarcinoma of the pancreas has a five-year survival rate of less than 5% and most patients only survive for a few months.
Pancreatic cancer tends to be very aggressive, responds poorly to treatment and is usually only found when it has already metastasized. Even with cancer confined to the pancreas, surgery has significant risks and five-year survival rates are poor.
There are many promising treatments in clinical trials, not just chemotherapeutic drugs but also immunotherapies and biological drugs aimed at specific receptors or proteins expressed by pancreatic cancer cells. Everyone with pancreatic cancer should inquire about the possibility of taking part in a clinical trial.
Even if that isn't possible, there are treatments that may be helpful. It should be stressed that none of the following experimental therapies have been tested in large-scale clinical trials for pancreatic cancer, but they are very safe and unlikely to cause major harm. Aiming for a cure in advanced pancreatic cancer is probably overly hopeful, but prolonged life may be achieved.
Herbs and Vitamins
COX-2 inhibitors, a subclass of NSAIDs, are known to have some anticancer properties. Curcumin from the spice turmeric is a COX-2 inhibitor which also has some other antitumor properties. In one study celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, was found to act synergistically with curcumin to inhibit the growth of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Curcumin is available as a supplement.
Another spice that may be helpful in pancreatic cancer is Nigella sativa. It contains a chemical called thymoquinone which reduces the secretion of several inflammatory cytokines and mediators, such as NF-kappa B. These anti-inflammatory properties appear to kill pancreatic cancer cells.
Vitamin D is known to have some anticancer properties and cancer patients should probably have their vitamin D levels checked. In one study some patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer responded to a combination of large-dose calcitriol (vitamin D3) and the chemotherapeutic drug docetaxel.
Intravenous vitamin C may be a promising cancer treatment. It has antitumor effects in many types of cancers, though has not been tested specifically in pancreatic cancer. The vitamin C concentrations required for antitumor effects cannot be achieved by oral administration.
Off-Label Prescription Drugs
Low dose naltrexone (LDN) is an immunostimulant which works by increasing the secretion of endogenous opioids. It has been used to treat several kinds of solid tumors as a form of immunotherapy. The endogenous opioids also have direct antitumor effects in some cancers.
There is a published case report of a man with advanced pancreatic cancer who started taking LDN and intravenous alpha lipoic acid in 2002 and is still alive, despite his original prognosis of only having a few months left. Like nigella sativa, alpha lipoic acid inhibits NF-kappa B.
Baclofen is a muscle relaxant that works through the GABAB receptor. Curiously some preliminary research has shown that baclofen and possibly the nutritional supplement GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) may be helpful in treatment and prevention of pancreatic cancer.
One interesting strategy to treat pancreatic cancer is androgen (testosterone) blockade. Several studies have that androgen blocking flutamide has antitumor effects in pancreatic cancer.
References
Lev-Ari S, Zinger H, Kazanov D, et al. Curcumin synergistically potentiates the growth inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effects of celecoxib in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. Biomed Pharmacother. 2005 Oct;59 Suppl 2:S276-80.
Thomas Jefferson University. "Herbal Extract Inhibits Development Of Pancreatic Cancer." ScienceDaily 20 April 2009.
Blanke CD, Beer TM, Todd K, et al. Phase II study of calcitriol-enhanced docetaxel in patients with previously untreated metastatic or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Invest New Drugs. In press 2009.
Frei B, Lawson S. Vitamin C and cancer revisited. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 12;105(32):11037-8.
Berkson BM, Rubin DM, Berkson AJ. The long-term survival of a patient with pancreatic cancer with metastases to the liver after treatment with the intravenous alpha-lipoic acid/low-dose naltrexone protocol. Integr Cancer Ther. 2006 Mar;5(1):83-9.
Schuller HM, Al-Wadei HA, Majidi M. GABA B receptor is a novel drug target for pancreatic cancer. Cancer. 2008 Feb 15;112(4):767-78.
Konduri S, Schwarz MA, Cafasso D, et al. Androgen receptor blockade in experimental combination therapy of pancreatic cancer. J Surg Res. 2007 Oct;142(2):378-86.
