The following article covers holistic treatments for pancreatic cancer.
With a dismal five-year survival rate of 11.5%, pancreatic cancer is a dreaded diagnosis for anyone to receive. Conventional treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, offer patients little hope. For that reason, researchers are turning to holistic treatments for pancreatic cancer as both standalone and adjuvant therapies.
Pancreatic cancer can develop from two types of pancreatic cells – neuroendocrine and exocrine. Cancer that arises from exocrine cells is the most common type, but it is difficult to detect until it has progressed to an advanced stage. Neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas (islet cell tumors) have a better prognosis but occur less frequently.
Holistic Treatments for Pancreatic Cancer
No matter which types a patient has, prompt treatment is critical to the best possible outcome. Patients with pancreatic cancer would do well to consider these 10 holistic treatments for pancreatic cancer.
1. Quercetin
A nature-sourced bioflavonoid found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, quercetin is a powerful antioxidant that has shown promise as an alternative treatment for cancer. As a 2013 Pancreas study demonstrated, quercetin inhibits pancreatic tumor growth in human cancer cells both as a complement to the chemotherapeutic gemcitabine and by itself. In fact, the study showed, quercetin was so effective in inducing cancer cell apoptosis (cellular death) and reducing tumor cell proliferation that adding gemcitabine to the regimen made no additional difference. Additionally, the study reports, quercetin inhibited the “self-renewal capacity of putative pancreatic cancer stem cells,” suppressing cancer growth in both nearby tissue and more distant areas of the body.
2. Resveratrol
Resveratrol, a phytochemical found in a broad range of fruits, including grapes, some berries, and cocoa, as well as in peanuts, is a potent antioxidant that has demonstrated antitumor activity in a wealth of studies. However, as the Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute points out, it has low bioavailability when taken orally since the body metabolizes and eliminates it quickly. At Brio-Medical, doctors avoid that problem by bypassing oral delivery in favor of IV treatments, putting the full power of resveratrol to bear in defeating pancreatic and other cancers. One of the studies, published in 2020 by Frontiers in Oncology, studied resveratrol’s effect on pancreatic cancer stem cells, the main culprits in cancer’s spread, both to local tissue and metastases into other parts of the body. The researchers found that resveratrol impeded nutrient-deprivation autophagy factor-1 (NAF-1) expression, a key driver of this invasive cancer’s progression via pancreatic cancer stem cells. This study and many others demonstrate resveratrol’s enormous potential as a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic cancer.
3. Polyphenols
While quercetin and resveratrol give pancreatic cancer patients an alternative to toxic chemotherapy and invasive surgery, a combination of these polyphenols shows great promise as potent integrative cancer treatments. A 2002 study in the International Journal of Cancer examined the effect of various food-derived polyphenols on pancreatic cancer growth. Although two of the compounds the researchers studied, rutin and genistein, had little impact on inducing cell death, both quercetin and trans-resveratrol “markedly enhanced apoptosis, causing mitochondrial depolarization and cytochrome c release followed by caspase-3 activation.” Again, administrating these cancer fighters by IV intensifies their potency, avoiding the body’s tendency to eliminate them when given by an oral route. For that reason, polyphenol IV therapy is one of the best natural treatment options for fast-growing pancreatic cancers.
4. High-Dose Vitamin C
Given intravenously at pharmacological levels, vitamin C induces oxidative stress in cancer cells, inhibiting the growth of pancreatic tumor tissues, a 2015 medical literature review revealed. Various studies that the review covered showed vitamin C presents a safe alternative cancer treatment on its own. Combined with gemcitabine, it offers great promise as a complementary treatment to traditional therapies. Like polyphenols, vitamin C performs best against cancer via the intravenous route, producing plasma concentrations 25 times as high as the same dose taken orally.
5. DMSO
Renowned as a topical anti-inflammatory in veterinary applications, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) also shows great promise as an effective holistic option in treating pancreatic cancer. In a 1984 study published in the European Journal of Cancer and Clinical Oncology, researchers examined the effects of DMSO on three human pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2, PANC-1, and CAPAN-1. They found that DMSO inhibited the cells’ ability to form colonies, a necessary ingredient in tumor growth and spread.
6. Detoxification IV Therapy (Chelation)
Chelation therapy has played a central role in holistic medicine for years. Effective in treating heart disease and atherosclerosis, among other conditions, it removes toxins from the body. However, as a 2020 study showed, it can also give pancreatic cancer patients a healthy alternative to chemotherapy and other toxic interventions. Iron is essential to the cellular metabolism process, so cancer cells’ rapid growth requires more of it to expand into new tissues. Removing iron from the bloodstream via IV chelation, therefore, should suppress tumor growth, the researchers surmised. This study confirmed the researchers’ theory, finding that chelation suppressed pancreatic cancer cells’ cellular movement pathways, inhibiting the runaway invasiveness of these cells.
7. Curcumin
Curcumin, a bioactive compound found in turmeric, has proven to be a robust cancer fighter against a variety of tumors, including pancreatic cancer, according to a 2014 review of studies on curcumin’s effect on tumor growth. The studies covered in the review revealed that high plasma levels of curcumin overcame the bioavailability issue that comes with oral ingestion, indicating that IV infusions would be the optimum way to deliver curcumin’s cancer-fighting power to patients. As both a solo treatment and in conjunction with various chemotherapeutics, curcumin proved effective in reducing the size of metastases and the disease’s progress. The review’s authors also conducted a phase I/II clinical trial of curcumin’s effectiveness in treating chemotherapy-resistant cancer patients, finding that the compound increased survival rates in the patients participating in the study.
8. Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Alpha-lipoic acid, a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger, is both water- and fat-soluble, giving it more bioavailability than compounds with limited solubility. Since the body contains only a tiny bit of free-circulating alpha-lipoic acid, it’s necessary to administer it to patients directly. In a 2012 pancreatic cancer study, researchers used a combination of alpha-lipoic acid and hydroxycitrate to target metabolic enzymes “particularly affected in cancer,” finding the combination “as efficient as chemotherapy” in the models they studied. And, when administered together with gemcitabine, alpha-lipoic acid and hydroxycitrate produced promising results in pancreatic cancer with liver metastases.
9. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy
Integrative medicine offers a variety of options for cancer patients who want an alternative to chemotherapy or want to augment traditional therapies with non-toxic interventions. A 2016 review showcases one of those options, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy. This soothing, non-invasive treatment has shown itself to be an effective weapon in the fight against various cancers, including pancreatic tumors, the review revealed.
10. Nutritional Counseling
While a healthy diet can reduce the incidence of pancreatic cancer, says a 2021 review of the role nutrition plays in the disease, it can also improve the effectiveness of other treatments, increasing patients’ survival rates. Since nutrition directly correlates with cancer cell metabolism, the right diet can improve prognoses for people with the deadly disease. The studies they reviewed showed the following diets to be effective in fighting pancreatic cancer: the ketogenic diet, which derives most of its calories from fat and protein, the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, seafood, legumes, olive oils, nuts, whole grains, and seeds, and the low-sugar diet, which promotes fiber and phytonutrient-rich vegetables and avoids carbohydrate-rich foods and processed meats.
These 10 holistic pancreatic cancer treatments give patients a broad range of non-toxic options to treat their disease. All these treatments – and many more – are available at the Brio-Medical Integrative Cancer Treatment Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.
If you or a loved one has received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, don’t lose hope. Schedule a free consultation with our cancer care team today!
References
“Pancreatic Cancer—Patient Version.” National Cancer Institute, https://www.cancer.gov/types/pancreatic. Accessed August 23, 2022
Angst, Eliane et al. “The flavonoid quercetin inhibits pancreatic cancer growth in vitro and in vivo.” Pancreas vol. 42,2 (2013): 223-9. doi:10.1097/MPA.0b013e318264ccae
“Resveratrol.” Linus Pauling Institute, https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/resveratrol. Accessed August 23, 2022
Qin, Tao et al. “Inhibition by Resveratrol Suppresses Cancer Stem Cell-Like Properties and the Invasion of Pancreatic Cancer.” Frontiers in Oncology vol 20 (2020). doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.01038
Mouria, Michelle et al. “Food-derived polyphenols inhibit pancreatic cancer growth through mitochondrial cytochrome C release and apoptosis.” International Journal of Cancer vol 98 (2002): 761-769. doi: 10.1002/ijc.10202
Cieslak, John A, and Joseph J Cullen. “Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer with Pharmacological Ascorbate.” Current pharmaceutical biotechnology vol. 16,9 (2015): 759-70. doi:10.2174/138920101609150715135921
McIntyre, J. et al. “Effects of sodium butyrate and dimethylsulfoxide on human pancreatic tumor cell lines.” European Journal of Cancer and Clinical Oncology vol 20,2 (1984): 265-271. doi: 10.1016/0277-5379(84)90194-9
Amano, Shogo et al. “Invasion inhibition in pancreatic cancer using the oral iron chelating agent deferasirox.” BMC cancer vol. 20,1 681. 22 Jul. 2020, doi:10.1186/s12885-020-07167-8
Kanai, Masashi. “Therapeutic applications of curcumin for patients with pancreatic cancer.” World journal of gastroenterology vol. 20,28 (2014): 9384-91. doi:10.3748/wjg.v20.i28.9384
Guais, Adeline et al. “Adding a combination of hydroxycitrate and lipoic acid (METABLOC™)
o chemotherapy improves effectiveness against tumor development: experimental results and case report.” Investigational new drugs vol. 30,1 (2012): 200-11. doi:10.1007/s10637-010-9552-x
Vadalà, Maria et al. “Mechanisms and therapeutic effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy in oncology.” Cancer medicine vol. 5,11 (2016): 3128-3139. doi:10.1002/cam4.861
Zhang, Yang et al. “Beneficial Diets and Pancreatic Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Practice.” Frontiers in Oncology vol 11 (2021). doi:10.3389/fonc.2021.630972
