1. CANCER – A Better Approach
By Steve Hines, N.D. N.E.
Co-Founder with Dr. Elio Rivera, M.D. of

2. WHAT IS CANCER?
CANCER OCCURS WHEN THE NORMAL LIFE SPAN OR THE LIFE & DEATH CYCLE OF CELLS IS DISRUPTED.
Example: The life span for skin cells is 30 days. Toward the end of its life, the current cell begins the process of replication. When replication is complete, the old cell should die and the new cell should take its place. But if the old cell doesn’t die on time and both cells continue to live, they will divide again in 30 days. This is the beginning of a tumor.

3. WHAT CAUSES CANCER? Some Contributing Factors:
Toxins
Genetics
Hormones or Hormone Mimicking Compounds
Nutritional Deficiencies
Infections
Hypoxia
Hyper-coagulation
Genetically Engineered Foods
Bad Dentistry
My observations have shown Chronic Inflammation to be the greatest promoter, although the inflammation is usually the result of one or more of the above! 

4. HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED? Palpation, Physical exam
Biopsies (Do they spread cancer?)
Cancer markers (blood test)
Scans

5. HOW IS IT TREATED? CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS: Chemotherapy
Biological Response Modifiers
Anti-VEGf Therapies
Hormonal Blockade
Surgery
Radiation

6. CHEMOTHERAPY: Standard vs. Conventional
5-Fu (inhibition of thymidylate synthase)
Adriamycin (intercalating DNA)
Bleomycin (DNA cleavage)
Cisplatin (alkylating agent): Damages all cells!
Xeloda (inhibits DNA synthesis)
Cyclophosphamide (nitrogen mustard alkylating agent)

7. HOW EFFECTIVE IS CHEMOTHERAPY?
Study published in the journal Clinical Oncology in December 2004, produced astounding results:
For all cancers chemotherapy has an average 5-year survival success rate of just over 2 percent! 
(See Table, next)

9. CHEMOTHERAPY Natural Alternatives:
I.V. Vitamin C (Cytotoxic oxidant at high concentration)
Mistletoe (Tyrosine Kinase activity)
Artesunate (converts iron into intracellular free radical)
Amygdalin/B-17 (Caspase 3 and 9 activity)
Pacific Yew tree extract (Tubulin disrupter)
Camptotheca acuminatea (Cytotoxic)
Periwinkle (tubulin disruption) Vincristine origin
I2RA Intracellular redox recycling agent (proprietary)

10. BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE MODIFIERS
Biological response modifiers (BRMs):
Substances that stimulate the body's response to infection and disease. The body naturally produces small amounts of these substances. Scientists can produce some of them in the laboratory in large amounts for use in treating cancer. Interferon, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and several types of colony- stimulating factors (CSF, GM-CSF, G-CSF) are currently available with many more being developed.
Most Botanical extracts are BRMs by nature!

11. ANTI -VEGf THERAPIES
These drugs inhibit the formation of blood vessels to cancer cells.
Conventional agents:
Avastin (angiogenesis inhibitor)
Thalidomide (angiogenesis inhibitor)
Revlimid (angiogenesis inhibitor)
Sorafenib (angiogenesis inhibitor)
Sutent (epidermal growth factor inhibitor)

12. REPORT: Avastin And Taxol For Breast Cancer March 23, 2006, 7:25 AM CT
Avastin, an anti-angiogenesis drug is now showing promise in the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer. A new research led by Dr Robin Zon, of Michiana Hematology-Oncology, PC in South Bend, Indiana has shown that combining Avastin with Taxol improves outcome in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The study has shown that a combination of Avastin and Taxol is more effective in prevention of progression of breast cancer compared to using Taxol alone.

13. Report (cont)
Avastin is an anti-angiogenesis drug that works by blocking the formation of new blood vessels and growing cancer cells. Some claim that the combination of chemotherapy and Avastin works better by facilitating chemotherapy delivery to the cancer cells.
This new research studied effectiveness of Avastin in combination with Taxol. The study enrolled a total of 722 patients with advanced breast cancer. The study found that combination of Avastin and Taxol was capable of keeping the cancer stable for a period of 11.4 months in women who received the drug combo compared to 6.11 months in patients who had only been given Taxol.
Researchers say that this presents yet another option for patients with advanced breast cancer. "These results are good news for people with breast cancer," said Zon who presented the results of the trial sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute at the 5th European Breast Cancer Conference in Nice, France.

14. ALTERNATIVE/NATURAL AGENTS
Increasing oxygen to the cells of the body
Vitamin D3 (angiogenesis inhibitor)
Bromelain (anti-coagulant/anti-inflammation)
Lumbrokinase (anti-coagulant)

15. ALTERNATIVE/NATURAL AGENTS
Turmeric (anti-coagulant/anti-inflammatory)
Genestein (anti-angiogenisis, blocks type 1 & 2 estrogen receptors.
Access copper/zinc ratios/repair imbalance
Hyper Cellular Respiration Therapy
Treat infections
Diet

16. DIET
Some common components of the Oriental diet also act as mild Angiogenesis Inhibitors. In particular, the following food items contain significant inhibitors and have been suggested as part of a healthy diet for this and other benefits as well:
Soy products such as tofu and tempeh both contain genistein an inhibitor of angiogenesis (AGI).
Agaricus Blazei mushrooms with AGI effects.
Products such as Ambrotose, a proprietary formula derived from Aloe Vera, have shown to enhance natural immunity as well as AGI properties. This product is distributed by the Manna Tech Corporation. No cancer patient should be without this product!

17. DIET (cont)
Reishi Mushrooms/Trametes Versicolor/Maitake and Phellinus Linteus all have AGI as well as immune modulating properties.
Green Tea extract contains Catechins.
Agi activity
Immune modulating,
Anti-Carcinogenic
Apoptosis Inducing
Numerous other properties.
Resveratrol found in Japanese Knotweed and Red wine extract has AGI as well as P53 suppressor gene rescue properties. The p53 gene is almost always mutated in cancer. Resveratrol aids in normalizing this gene!

18. HORMONAL THERAPY
These drugs either block or alter the binding of hormones to their respective receptors or alter hormones from being converted to various metabolites.
Conventional agents:
Tamoxifen (anti-estrogen)
Evista (selective estrogen receptor modulator)
Femara (aromatase inhibitor)
Arimidex (aromatase inhibitor)
*Problems: Most of these agents lose effectiveness in 3 months !

19. ALTERNATIVE/NATURAL AGENTS
Genestein (isoflavones, phytoestrogens)
IC-3 (aromatase inhibitor)
Dim (aromatase inhibitor)
Red Clover (Angiogenisis) (anti-estrogen)
Scutellaria Baicalensis (induces apoptosis)
Red root (increases T-cell acivity, anti-estrogen)
Iodine (alters disposition of homones)
*Benefits: Most of these botanicals work synergistically with each other and with pharmaceuticals and inhibit resistance!

20. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES & STRATEGIC PLANNING
Know your enemy! Essential lab tests can help plan your cancer battle plan!
The Greek test (chemo sensitivity test)
Copper/Zinc Cerruloplasmin
Ferritin, Serum iron, Total Iron Binding Capacity
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGf)
C-reactive Protein
Fibrinogen
D-Dimer
Cox-2
CBC

21. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
Detoxification
Far infrared Sauna
Hyperbaric Oxygen
Colonics/Coffee Enemas
BEMER (pulsed electromagnet field therapy)
Gallbladder/Liver Flushes
Natural Sunlight Exposure
Ozone Saunas
Calcium D-Glucarate

22. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
Toxicity and Infections
Gi-02 panel (Diagnostechs clinical laboratories)
Root Canals, Mercury fillings, Cavatations
Heavy metals, Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, Iron!

23. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
Stress Reduction and Management
Heart math program
Moderate exercise
Prayer

24. SCIENCE NEWS
Study Of Hypoxia And New Gene Reveals Early-Stage Action Of P53 Tumor Suppressor:
ScienceDaily (Jan. 17, 2005) - Philadelphia, PA – Researchers have known for a decade that the p53 tumor suppressor gene is important for killing cells as they proliferate under low-oxygen conditions inside tumors. As tumors grow they outstrip their oxygen supply. If a cell has a normal p53 gene, the p53 protein will eliminate cancerous cells, keeping tumor growth at bay. Under conditions of stress to the cell – such as radiation or chemotherapy and hypoxia – p53 normally eliminates tumors.

25. SCIENCE NEWS Study (cont)
Hypoxia, however, induces p53 to mutate: The less oxygen, the more mutations in the p53 gene, so cancer cells are not killed; instead, they proliferate. A team led by Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine, Genetics, and Pharmacology with the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, discovered a gene related to p53 called Bnip3L that can also cause cell death. The gene is turned on by p53 and a second transcription factor called hypoxia inducible factor, or HIF. The team silenced Bnip3L in cells with normal p53 and exposed cells to low oxygen conditions. In cell culture and in an animal model with implanted tumor cells, the researchers showed that tumors with silenced Bnip3L grew more aggressively in low oxygen conditions than cells and tumors with intact Bnip3L. El-Deiry and first author Peiwen Fei, MD, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow, report their findings in the December issue of Cancer Cell.

26. SCIENCE NEWS Study (cont)
"From this, we predict in humans that another reason for tumor growth is the silencing of Bnip3L," says El-Deiry. "We think one of the ways that p53 suppresses tumors at their earliest stages is by turning on Bnip3L, and that's new. There is no information at present about how p53 works in the earliest stages of tumor growth, especially as the growth begins to outstrip the supply of nutrients and oxygen."
Understanding how cells die after they are starved for oxygen is important for fighting cancer as well as other diseases. "Down the road we would like to find strategies to turn Bnip3L back on to restore the ability to die under hypoxia now that we know how it happens in the first place," says El-Deiry.
This work was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

27. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS
Chemotherapy drugs can be divided into several groups based on factors such as how they work, their chemical structure, and their relationship to another drug. Some chemotherapy drugs are grouped together because they were derived from the same plant. Because some drugs act in more than one way, they may belong to more than one group. Knowing how the drug works is important in predicting side effects. This helps oncologists decide which drugs are likely to work well together. If more than one drug will be used, this information also helps them plan exactly when each of the drugs should be given (in which order and how often).

28. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS
ALKYLATING AGENTS
Alkylating agents directly damage DNA to prevent the cancer cell from reproducing. As a class of drugs, these agents are not phase-specific; in other words, they work in all phases of the cell cycle. Alkylating agents are used to treat many different cancers, including acute and chronic leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, multiple myeloma, sarcoma, as well as cancers of the lung, breast, and ovary.
Because these drugs damage DNA, they can cause long-term damage to the bone marrow. In a few rare cases, this can eventually lead to acute leukemia. The risk of leukemia from alkylating agents is "dose-dependent," meaning that the risk is small with lower doses, but goes up as the total amount of drug used gets higher. The risk of leukemia after alkylating agents is highest 5 to 10 years after treatment.

29. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS
Many different types of ALKYLATING AGENTS :
Nitrogen Mustards:
Mechlorethamine (Nitrogen Mustard)
Chlorambucil
Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan®)
Ifosfamide Melphalan
Nitrosoureas:
Streptozocin
Carmustine (BCNU)
Lomustine
Alkyl Sulfonates:
Busulfan

30. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS
Types of ALKYLATING AGENTS (cont) :
Triazines:
Dacarbazine (DTIC)
Temozolomide (Temodar®)
Ethylenimines:
Thiotepa
Altretamine (Hexamethylmelamine)
*The platinum drugs (cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxalaplatin) are sometimes grouped with alkylating agents because they kill cells in a similar way. These drugs are less likely than the alkylating agents to cause leukemia.

31. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
ANTIMETABOLITES
Interfere with DNA and RNA growth by substituting for the normal building blocks of RNA and DNA.
These agents damage cells during the S phase.
They are commonly used to treat leukemias, tumors of the breast, ovary, and the intestinal tract, as well as other cancers.

32. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
Examples of ANTIMETABOLITES:
5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)
Capecitabine (Xeloda®)
6-mercaptopurine (6-MP)
Methotrexate
Gemcitabine (Gemzar®)
Cytarabine (Ara-C®)
Fludarabine
Pemetrexed (Alimta®)

33. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
ANTI-TUMOR ANTIBIOTICICS:
Anthracyclines
Interfere with enzymes involved in DNA replication.
Agents work in all phases of the cell cycle, so are widely used for a variety of cancers.
Major consideration: Can permanently damage the heart if given in high doses. For this reason, lifetime dose limits are often placed on these drugs.
Examples of Anthracyclines:
Daunorubicin
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin®)
Epirubicin
Idarubicin

34. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
Other ANTI-TUMOR ANTIBIOTICICS:
Actinomycin-D
Bleomycin
Mitomycin-C
Mitoxantrone:
Anti-tumor antibiotic similar to Doxorubicin in many ways, including the potential for damaging the heart.
This drug also acts as a Topoisomerase II inhibitor and can lead to treatment-related leukemia.
Mitoxantrone is used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

35. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
TOPOISOMERASE INHIBITORS:
These drugs interfere with enzymes called Topoisomerases, which help separate the strands of DNA so they can be copied.
Used to treat certain leukemias, as well as lung, ovarian, gastrointestinal, and other cancers.
Examples of Topoisomerase I Inhibitors:
Topotecan
Irinotecan (CPT-11)
Etoposide (VP-16)
Teniposide
Mitoxantrone also inhibits topoisomerase II
Treatment with topoisomerase II inhibitors increases the risk of a second cancer -- acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Secondary leukemia can be seen as early as 2-3 years after the drug is given.

36. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
MITOTIC INHIBITORS:
Often plant alkaloids and other compounds derived from natural products.
Can stop mitosis or inhibit enzymes from making proteins needed for cell reproduction.
Work during the M phase of the cell cycle, but can damage cells in all phases.
Used to treat many different types of cancer including breast, lung, myelomas, lymphomas, and leukemias.
These drugs are enzymes, and the proteosome inhibitor Bortezomib (Velcade®), known for their potential to cause peripheral nerve damage, which can be a dose-limiting side effect.

37. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
Examples of MITOTIC INHIBITORS:
The Taxanes:
Paclitaxel (Taxol®)
Docetaxel (Taxotere®)
Epothilones:
Ixabepilone (Ixempra®)
The Vinca Alkaloids:
Vinblastine (Velban®)
Vincristine (Oncovin®)
Vinorelbine (Navelbine®)
Estramustine (Emcyt®)

38. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
CORTICOSTEROIDS:
Steroids are natural hormones and hormone-like drugs that are useful in treating some types of cancer (lymphoma, leukemias, and multiple myeloma), as well as other illnesses.
When these drugs are used to kill cancer cells or slow their growth, they are considered chemotherapy drugs.
Corticosteroids are commonly used as anti-emetics to help prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
Also used before chemotherapy to help prevent severe allergic reactions (hypersensitivity reactions).
When a corticosteroid is used to prevent vomiting or allergic reactions, it is not considered chemotherapy.
Examples include
Prednisone
Methylprednisolone (Solumedrol®)
Dexamethasone (Decadron®)

39. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
MISCELLANEOUS CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS:
Some chemotherapy drugs act in slightly different ways and do not fit well into any of the other categories.
Examples include drugs such as L-asparaginase.

40. OTHER TYPES OF CANCER DRUGS
Other drugs and biological treatments are used to treat cancer, but are not usually considered "chemotherapy."
While chemotherapy drugs take advantage of the fact that cancer cells divide rapidly, these other drugs target different properties that set cancer cells apart from normal cells.
They often have less serious side effects than those commonly caused by chemotherapy drugs because they are targeted to work mainly on cancer cells, not normal, healthy cells. Many are used along with chemotherapy.

41. OTHER TYPES OF CANCER DRUGS (cont)
TARGETED THERAPIES:
As researchers have come to learn more about the inner workings of cancer cells, they have begun to create new drugs that attack cancer cells more specifically than traditional chemotherapy drugs can.
Most attack cells with mutant versions of certain genes, or cells that express too many copies of a particular gene.
These drugs can be used as part of primary treatment or after treatment to maintain remission or decrease the chance of recurrence.

42. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
TARGETED THERAPIES (cont):
Only a handful of these drugs are available at this time.
Examples include:
Imatinib (Gleevec®)
Gefitinib (Iressa®)
Erlotinib (Tarceva®)
Sunitinib (Sutent®)
Bortezomib (Velcade®)
Targeted therapies are a huge research focus and there will likely many more developed in the future.

43. CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS (cont)
DIFFERENTIATING AGENTS:
Drugs that act on the cancer cells to make them mature into normal cells.
Examples include:
Retinoids
Tretinoin (ATRA or Atralin®)
Bexarotene (Targretin®)
Arsenic trioxide (Arsenox®)

44. HORMONE THERAPY
Drugs in this category are sex hormones, or hormone-like drugs, that alter the action or production of female or male hormones. They are used to slow the growth of breast, prostate, and endometrial (uterine) cancers, which normally grow in response to natural hormones in the body.
These cancer treatment hormones do not work in the same ways as standard chemotherapy drugs, but rather by preventing the cancer cell from using the hormone it needs to grow, or by preventing the body from making the hormones.

45. HORMONE THERAPY(cont)
EXAMPLES include:
Anti-estrogens
Fulvestrant (Faslodex®)
Tamoxifen
Toremifene (Fareston®)
Aromatase Inhibitors
Anastrozole (Arimidex®)
Exemestane (Aromasin®)
Letrozole (Femara®)
Progestins
Egestrol Acetate (Megace®)

46. HORMONE THERAPY(cont)
Examples (cont):
Estrogens
Anti-Androgens
Bicalutamide (Casodex®)
Flutamide (Eulexin®)
Nilutamde (Nilandron®)
LHRH Agonists
Leuprolide (Lupron®)
Goserelin (Zoladex®)

47. IMMUNOTHERAPY
Drugs that are given to people with cancer to stimulate their natural immune systems to more effectively recognize and attack cancer cells.
Offer a unique method of treatment
Often considered to be separate from chemotherapy.
Compared to other forms of cancer treatments, (Surgery, Radiation Therapy, or Chemotherapy), Immunotherapy is still relatively new.

48. IMMUNOTHERAPY Active & Passive Types of Immunotherapy:
Active immunotherapies stimulate the body's own immune system to fight the disease.
Passive immunotherapies do not rely on the body to attack the disease; instead, they use immune system components (such as antibodies) created outside of the body.

49. IMMUNOTHERAPY Other Types of Immunotherapies include:
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy (Passive Immunotherapies)
Rituximab (Rituxan®)
Alemtuzumab (Campath®)
Non-specific Immunotherapies and Adjuvants (other substances or cells that boost the immune response)
BCG
Interleukin-2 (IL-2)
Interferon-alpha

50. IMMUNOTHERAPY Types of Immunotherapies (cont): Immunomodulating drugs
Thalidomide
Lenalidomide (Revlimid®)
Cancer Vaccines (active specific immunotherapies)
Although several vaccines are being studied, as of early 2009 there are no FDA-approved vaccines to treat cancer.