CAM Scams: Poisons as Cancer Cures

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CAM Scams Poisons as Cancer Cures

• Lewis Nelson, MD
• New York University School of Medicine
• New York City Poison Control Center

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• "I am glad to be among my own kind tonight.
• I was once a sharpshooter, but now I practice a
  much higher and equally as deadly a profession"

Mark Twain
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Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

• Complex collection of unrelated therapies
• Theoretical clinical basis (relaxation)
• Theoretical biological basis (herbal medicine)
• Widespread acceptance (acupuncture
  chiropractic)
• Variable training and certification requirements
  for practitioners
• Some feel that formal regulation would serve to
  legitimize them
• Most have limited scientific support
• A few have a checkered history of quackery
• Fraudulent offering of medical skill

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Cancer therapy

• Current chemotherapy (possibly excluding
  immunotherapeutics) works by exploiting
  differences between normal and cancerous cells
• Rate of division
• Uptake of medication
• Utilization of antidote
• Unfortunately, scammers have used this same logic
  to push their products

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Case

• A 65 year-old woman presents after a witnessed
  syncopal episode.
• Past medical history significant for HTN and
  metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon.
• Has been seeing a naturopathic health care
  provider for treatment.

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Case

• 1 month history of loose stools
• On day of presentation had witnessed collapse
  without incontinence, seizure activity or tongue
  biting.
• Spontaneously awoke, was amnestic of the event.

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Case

• Vital signs
• BP 138/55 mmHg
• P 52/min
• Temp 36.8C
• RR 18/min
• SpO2 95 on room air
• Rapid bedside glucose 10 mmol/L

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Case

• Exam
• AOx3
• HEENT Small contusion on forehead
• Chest Clear
• Heart Normal
• Abdomen Soft, non tender
• Extremities Normal
• Neurologic No focal neurological findings

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Medications

• Naturopathic products
• Unknown herbal powder
• A tablet Gigamax
• A tablet Multi C
• A tablet Slow K

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QTc 700 msec
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Labs

• K 2.8 mEq/L
• Magnesium and calcium, normal
• In the ED, the patient had 4 episodes of syncope
  lasting 10-20 sec each. A rhythm strip is shown

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www.naturopathic.org/
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Naturopathy

• Cancer is a mutated cellular process which
  results from high intake of refined foods, fake
  foods, processed foods, including processed white
  sugar products, artificial sweeteners, white
  flour products, packaged foods, food
  preservatives, food color and dye additives, and
  foods grown with pesticides, herbicides,
  antibiotics and hormones.

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Naturopathy

• Naturopathic Medicine believes that.all cancer
  is both fungal and viral in origin, and sometimes
  parasitic.
• .health disorders including cancer are most
  likely a result of nutritional imbalances as well
  as an accumulation of toxic substances.

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Naturopathic Cancer Cures

• Colloidal Silver 500 ppm
• Oil of oregano P73 Physician's Strength
• Garlic Kyolic Organic Liquid 10020
• Aloe Vera
• CoQ10 Q-Gel With Vitamin E
• Liquid Vitamins/Minerals
• Calcium/Magnesium Powder
• Himalayan Goji Juice

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Be careful about reading health books. You may
die of a misprint.
Mark Twain
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Herbal Cancer Treatments

• CanCell
• Hoxeys Therapy
• Gersons
• Etc..

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CanCell/ProtoCel

• Lowers the voltage of the cell structure by
  about 20...so they self digest
• Warn that bottles of CanCell should not be
  allowed to touch each other
• Claim that CanCell cannot be analyzed because it
  varies with atmospheric vibrations

National Cancer Institute states, The nature and
origin of this chemical has not been provided,
and it does not appear to be a known compound.
Inositol Nitric Acid Sodium Sulfite Potassium
Hydroxide Sulfuric Acid Catechol Crocinic Acid
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Gersons Cure

• Need to detoxify
• Vegetarian Diet
• Vitamins
• Liver injections
• Coffee Enemas

Gerson Institute in Bonita, California
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Laetrile

• Trade name of an extract of fruit pits that
  contains l -mandelonitrile-beta-glucuronoside, or
  amygdalin
• Cyanogenic glycoside
• Acronym for laevorotatory and mandelonitrile
• Used for more than a century as an active
  anticancer regimen
• 1970 petition to study it denied by FDA
• Viewed by some as an attempt by the US government
  to block cancer therapies

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• Multiple court cases
• Laetrile was legalized in more than 20 US states
  during the 1970s.
• Must certify that the patient is terminal
• In 1980, the US Supreme Court overturned
  decisions by the lower courts
• Reaffirmed FDAs position that drugs must be
  proven to be both safe and effective before
  widespread public use.

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Glucosidase
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• Administered by intravenous injection.
• Although the GI tract cells have glucosidase, the
  remainder of the bodys cells do not.
• Proponents claim that cancer cells, unlike normal
  cells, are particularly rich in glucosidase and
  they release cyanide from amygdalin which
  destroys the cancer cells.

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• Laetrile has shown little to no anticancer effect
  in laboratory studies, animal studies, or human
  studies.
• Not surprisingly, the adverse effects of Laetrile
  are similar to those of cyanide.

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The Clinical Trial (Mayo Clinic)

• A prospective, open-label evaluation of amygdalin
  plus "metabolic therapy in 178 patients with
  various cancers.
• 21 days of IV amygdalin 4.5 grams/m2 followed by
  500 mg amygdalin tablets TID.
• Plus metabolic therapy consisting of vitamins,
  minerals, and pancreatic enzymes.
• Primary outcomes measured were tumor response and
  survival.

Moertel CG. N Engl J Med 1982306201-206
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• 1 partial response
• 79 had progression at 2 months
• 91 by 3 months.
• Median survival 4.8 months from initiation
• Adverse effects HA, N/V, dizziness, obtundation.
• Significantly elevated blood cyanide
  concentrations.

Moertel CG. N Engl J Med 1982306201-206
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• The results suggest that amygdalin is ineffective
  in the treatment of cancer.
• Claims for Laetriles effectiveness shifted from
  a cancer cure, to a cancer control agent, to a
  "vitamin (called B17) purported to prevent
  cancer.

Moertel CG. N Engl J Med 1982306201-206
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• The Internet search found several websites still
  selling Laetrile or offering related clinical
  services.
• All in Mexico
• Oasis of Hope

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http//www.amygdalin.co.uk
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Elements and simple molecules

• Widely touted as cancer cures
• Hyperoxygenation therapy
• It is claimed by proponents that intravenous
  ozone can dissolve malignant tissues due to
  their deficiency of the protective enzyme
  catalase.
• Autohemotransfusion of ozone
• Blood mixed with ozone and retransfused.
• In one case, clinical and postmortem studies
  revealed gas embolism and patent foramen ovale.

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The Role of pH

• In a seminal paper, Dr. A. K. Brewer, a
  physicist, describes two pH therapies available
  for treating cancer
• Low pH Therapy
• High pH Therapy

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Low pH Therapy

• .glucose is injected into the blood stream. As
  a consequence, the cancer cell pH will drop
  eventually to the 5.5 range.
• The patient is then placed in a furnace heated
  to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40C) for a matter of
  hours.
• At these high temperatures and in the acid
  medium, the life of cancer cells is very short.
• The only drawback is that severe toxemia may
  result from the out-leakage of the acid toxins
  within the tumor masses.

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High pH Therapy

• .consists of feeding the patient about 6 gm of
  CsCl per day in conjunction with Vitamins A and
  C, which upon absorption by the tumor cells will
  give rise to the pH to 8 or above

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High pH Therapy

• Cancer cells undergo anaerobic metabolism
• Produces lactic acid
• This alters DNA to allow uncontrolled growth
• Also causes pain
• Cesium is an alkaline earth metal
• Highly electropositive, generates alkaline
  solution
• Though given as the chloride salt
• Follows sodium pathway into cells
• Purportedly raises intracellular pH to 8
• Stops mitosis
• Ends pain

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High pH Therapy

• Two side effects have been observed in some of
  the patients. These are first nausea, and the
  second diarrhea.

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Oh yeah.
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Cesium Chloride
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Why do people fall for quackery?

• Proponents almost never keep score or reveal what
  percentage of their cases end in failure.
• How good is the diagnosis
• The patient never had cancer
• If the patients die, they were too late to be
  cured
• Proponents are very convincing, charismatic
• Cancer patients are particularly vulnerable

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• Thank you

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References

• National Cancer Institute. http//www.cancer.gov/c
  ancertopics/treatment/cam. Accessed 2/25/08
• Goldfrank L et al. Goldfranks Toxicologic
  Emergencies. 7th Ed, McGraw Hill, New York. 2002
  pp. 1-15, 1183-119, 1498-1504.
• Soignet SL et al. Complete remission after
  treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia with
  arsenic trioxide. NEJM 19983391341-1348.
• Brewer AK. The high pH therapy for cancer tests
  on mice and humans. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 21
  Suppl. 1, 1-5. 1984.
• Dalal AK, Harding JD, Verdino RJ. Acquired long
  QT syndrome and monomorphic ventricular
  tachycardia after alternative treatment with
  cesium chloride for brain cancer. Mayo Clin Proc
  2004 79(8)1065-1069.
• Jones DL, Petrie JP, Li HG. Spontaneous,
  electrically, and cesium chloride induced
  arrhythmia and afterdepolarizations in the
  rapidly paced dog heart. Pacing Clin
  Electrophysiol 2001 24(4 Pt 1)474-485.
• Pinter A, Dorian P, Newman D. Cesium-Induced
  Torsades de Pointes. NEJM 2002 346 383-384

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References

• Moertel CG, Fleming TR, Rubin J, et al. A
  clinical trial of amygdalin (Laetrile) in the
  treatment of human cancer. N Engl J Med
  1982306201-206
• Chlebowski RT, Bulcavage L, Grosvenor M, et al.
  Hydrazine sulfate
• influence on nutritional status and survival in
  non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol
  199089-15.
• Marchetti D, La Monaca G. An unexpected death
  during oxygen-ozone therapy. Am J Forensic Med
  Pathol 200021144-147.
• See KA, Lavercombe PS, Dillon J, Ginsberg R.
  Accidental death from acute selenium poisoning.
  Med J Aust 2006185388-9.
• Lyon AW, Mayhew WJ. Cesium toxicity a case of
  self-treatment by alternate therapy gone awry.
  Ther Drug Monit 2003 25114-116.