National And Global Public Health Challenges: A Unitary Theory of Cancer

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Toward a Unitary Theory of Carcinogenesis

Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D.

This website has been created for the possible interest of the cancer research community and others with an interest in cancer theory, particularly a unitary theory of carcinogenesis and anti-carcinogenesis. It has been created in the hope that those in the cancer research community may consider far broader perspectives that may lead to progress in understanding cancer. Comments are welcome.

Synthesis of a New Theoretical Perspective on Carcinogenesis and Anti-Carcinogenesis

This paper represents the culmination of a long-term interest of mine in the field of cancer research.  In 1979 and 1980, I spent over a year deeply exploring the topic.  At that time, I had a contract with an institute that enabled me to attend mainstream medical conferences as well as conferences focusing on alternative medical approaches to preventing and treating cancer.  I also met with researchers here in the United States and in the U.K., Australia, Japan, India, and Jamaica.  Among the most notable of the doctors and researchers whom I met were the following:

  • Josef Issels (author of Cancer: A Second Opinion: A Look at Understanding, Controlling, and Curing Cancer),

  • Chisato Maruyama (Tokyo) (inventor of the Maruyama vaccine),

  • Thelma Arthur (inventor of a blood test for cancer), and

  • John Holt (Perth Radiation Oncology Centre, Perth, Australia) (innovator in treatment regimen involving microwaves and radiation in combination).

The paper posted here was also influenced by my reading of D.W. Smithers’ famous lecture entitled “Possibilities in Cancer Prevention.” (The Seventh Maurice Bloch lecture delivered within the University of Glasgow on 23rd November, 1965, http://library.unl.edu/record=b1796333*eng.)  Smithers had called for a wide-ranging theoretical perspective.

While Josef Issels, Chisato Maruyama, and Thelma Arthur have all passed away, John Holt’s work apparently continues.   What is happening with Thelma Arthur’s legacy is unclear.

Issels Treatment Centers are in San Diego and Florida among other locations.  (See http://www.issels.com  and http://www.issels.com/clinics_ITC_about.aspx  for further information.)

For information about Dr. Maruyama’s legacy, see http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-Bacteria-Cause-Cancer?&id=641484 .  This posting includes information about the Maruyama vaccine.  Further Google searches seem to indicate that the clinical treatment that he had started may still be continuing.   His clinic in Tokyo was quite a thriving enterprise in 1979 when I visited Dr. Maruyama.  The oncology community in Japan was not at all on his side, however.  This might well have been owing to the fact that not only was his medical specialty in a field other than oncology, but the treatment regimen that Dr. Maruyama evolved was unorthodox.)

I am not sure about the current status of Dr. Arthur’s work at her Research Laboratory in Chula Vista, California and her cutting-edge breakthrough in testing.  Her blood test in the 1970s and 1980s enabled doctors to know the stage of a person’s cancer.  Her innovative work was both cutting edge and controversial.

Dr. John Holt, according to a Google search, seems to be continuing his cutting-edge work using microwaves in conjunction with radiation in Perth, Australia.  His eclectic background includes medicine as well as physics.  His eclectic background seems to have made it very difficult for mainstream medicine to understand what it is he is doing and why his approach to treating cancer is effective.  While engaged in cutting edge research and developing innovative treatment modalities, he also maintained roles in orthodox medicine, including serving as Medical Director for Western Australia.

One of the publications that I came across while doing my secondary research on cancer was the Proceedings of a Conference on the Spontaneous Regression of Cancer. (National Cancer Institute Monograph 44. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1976.)  I had obtained a copy of the proceedings from MEDLARS at the National Institutes of Health when I was doing my research.  The insight that I gained from reading the proceedings of that conference and the numerous cases involving the spontaneous regression of cancer that were reported on at that Conference was this:


The one thing that the anecdotal clinical information about cases of the spontaneous regression of cancer that all such cases shared was the hyping of the immune system.

"Hyping” is my term, not theirs.

Cases of spontaneous regression involved everything from a cobra bite, to septicemia, and malaria:  things that induce high fevers.  Indeed, the Maruyama vaccine (which utilizes tubercle bacilli) and Dr. Holt’s use of microwaves would also have the effect of hyping the immune system as would other treatment regimen that elevated the temperature of the body.

My secondary research efforts resulted in the following paper on a new theoretical perspective on carcinogenesis and “anti-carcinogenesis.”  The paper was never formally published although it was widely circulated.   I gave several presentations on the original version of the paper, including a presentation at an annual meeting of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia in Melbourne and another at the 4th Asian Cancer Conference in Bombay, both in 1979.  In the same year, I met with the Director of the National Cancer Institute, others in the U.S. government, and several doctors affiliated with major cancer institutes in the U.S. and the U.K., including the Director of M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute.   The present version of the paper has been modified in only minor ways.

Introduction

The theoretical perspective on carcinogenesis described here has been evolved an off shoot of a technical planning study completed for the Electrical Power Research Institute in 1980.  The study assessed the linkages between trace elements, heavy metals, and carcinogenesis.  Sometime after undertaking the study, it became clear that it would be necessary to attempt to synthesize a new theoretical perspective on carcinogenesis – to, in effect, evolve a contextual framework in which the role of trace elements and heavy metals in both the carcinogenic and “anti-carcinogenic” processes might be better understood.  As a consequence, the focus here is on that new theoretical perspective on carcinogenesis and anti-carcinogenesis.  (The role that trace elements or heavy metals can play in the carcinogenic process is not addressed in this paper.)

It is hoped that this new theoretical perspective may help in some way shape and influence future efforts in cancer research and the application of cancer research results and may help pave the way for a unitary theory of carcinogenesis and anti-carcinogenesis.

A New Perspective

A perusal of the recent history of cancer research reveals that no truly comprehensive unitary theoretical perspective based on what is currently known about cancer has been evolved.  Far from reflecting efforts at synthesis, the present state of cancer theory reflects great fragmentation, with few efforts made to look at the whole.  As D. W. Smithers had once noted, the forest has simply not been seen for the trees.[i]  Few persons have attempted to look at the whole forest and too many have concentrated their sole attention on a few trees – or even on a few splinters from a few trees.  This has led to some very misleading conclusions.  The various theories concerning the etiology and pathogenesis of cancer are very often seen as being in conflict.   These might include Otto Warburg’s theories of impaired cellular respiration in cancer[ii] and the work of Berenblum and Shubik, initiator/promoter theorists.[iii]  Also included might be viral theories, bacterial theories, genetic theories, and metabolic and environmental theories.   The perspective described here is one that considers the possibility that any and all of these theories might well come into play in cancer and that the theories do not necessarily have to be seen as being mutually exclusive.  

Another tendency has been to view cancer in terms of its overt, readily recognizable symptoms, not holistically, not in terms of its systemic origins or the systemic way in which the disease may progress.  The theoretical perspective that is the focus of this paper is based on the assumption that cancer is a systemic, not a local site, or localized, disease.  This perspective has been evolved from clues and facts taken from the following range of sources:

  1. The orthodox, “mainstream,” refereed scientific literature, including the epidemiological literature and the literature on the   spontaneous regression of cancer,

  2. The unrefereed literature, including scientific symposia proceedings,

  3. The unorthodox, unrefereed literature, and

  4. Study of unorthodox approaches or recent breakthroughs that have resulted in successful cancer diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.

The view of cancer that has emerged and that is described in this paper is one in which cancer can be as a disease that can be characterized as variations on themes that are themselves varied.[iv]   These themes, or “phases” as they are referred to here, are seen as being key to understanding the variations in the patterns that can be found in the carcinogenic and anti-carcinogenic processes.   Note: Tables and appendix have been included in the paper that depict a few of the many variations that can be found in the patterns of cancer etiology and pathogenesis.

The Five Basic Phases in the Carcinogenic Process

In almost all cases of carcinogenesis, five basic phases can be found.  These are characterized here in the following way:

Table 1.  The Five Basic Phases in the Carcinogenic Process

  1. Causal or Conditional Factors

  2. Impairment of Cell Functioning and Structure

  3. Impairment of Cellular Respiration and Metabolism

  4. Unchecked Cell Proliferation or Differentiation

  5. Final Stages of Carcinogenesis

Any or all of these phases may recur in a more intensified or altered form in any given case of cancer.  In some cases, the five phases will be differently ordered.  Figure 1 below shows one possible sequencing of phases.  In this sequence, the phases appear in the same numbered order as in Table 1.  In Figure 2 below, phase 3 is seen preceding phase 2.  In Figure 3 below, phases 2 and 3 are seen occurring simultaneously.  In Figure 4 below, phase 4, unchecked cell proliferation or differentiation, is seen as following directly after the causal phase.
[For Figures 1-4, see the Appendices.]

Phase 1.  The Phase Involving Causal or Conditioning Factors

Several things bear noting when discussing causal or conditioning factors:

  • Cancer can have many different causes, including a number that have received little attention as yet,

  • These multiple causes can act in a wide variety of ways, and

  • The same causal factor(s) or conditioning factor(s), given different hosts or environmental and contextual factors can trigger vastly differing effects.

The list of causal or conditional factors can be seen as including the following:

  • Subjection to environmental toxins, mutagens, carcinogens, radiation, and genotoxins,

  • Subjection to harmful substances in the diet or in medical treatment or hygienic or cosmetic regimens,

  • Inadequate diet, including poorly balanced diet with respect to vitamins, trace elements, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids,

  • Impaired immune defense that can be exacerbated by chronic infections, including infected tonsils and teeth or by trace element or vitamin deficiencies,

  • Unwanted free radical reactions,

  • Inadequacy of exposure to fresh air and full spectrum sunlight,

  • Histological abnormalities, including injuries, irritations, scars, and moles,

  • Deterioration of cellular integrity, including weakening brought about by bacterial, microbial, or viral attack or their consequences,

  • Degeneration of the extracellular environment,

  • Cellular disorganization, including that brought on by sodium/potassium imbalance, anemia, or trace element or mineral imbalances,

  • Shock, trauma, prolonged stress, including stress cause by grief, or stress caused by long-term subjugation to harmful ion or magnetic imbalances,

  • Impaired digestion or microbiome,

  • Impaired detoxification of the body,

  • Poor health and hygienic habits, including overweight, mental depression, or anxiety,

  • Impaired respiration, including that caused by inadequate oxygenation, e.g., caused by or associated with shallow breathing, anemia, or development of atherosclerotic plaque,

  • Poor overall health,

  • Poor health history, and

  • Genetic predisposition.

While the effect of the initial insult, injury, deficiency, or imbalance in the carcinogenic process can be innocuous at first glance, the subsequent processes that this initial insult can set in motion may be anything but that.  It is these processes that, once set in motion, can eventually culminate in the final stages of carcinogenesis.  The following children’s rhyme describes a chain reaction involving consecutive losses; similarly, the carcinogenic process can also be described as a series of sequential losses beginning at times with rather innocuous ones and culminating in the total wasting of the organism.

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of a horse, the rider was lost;
For want of a rider, the battle was lost;
For loss of the battle, the kingdom was lost;
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Phase 2.  The Phase Involving Impairment of Cell Function and Structure

This phase can be directly or indirectly caused by the wide range of causal and conditioning factors listed above. Particularly characteristic of this typically early phase of the carcinogenic process are any or all of the following:

  • Unwanted free radical reactions,

  • Inadequate free radical scavengers,

  • Enzymatic alterations,

  • Hormonal imbalance,

  • DNA damage,

  • Faulty DNA repair,

  • Cellular disorganization,

  • Alteration of cell membrane permeability and/or electrical charge,

  • Alteration of normal electrolytic character of the cell, and

  • Degeneration of the extracellular environment.

It should be noted here that the different causes of cancer in phase 1 can trigger various effects, that in turn, in phase 2 or in other phases, can become secondary causes or contributory causes, triggering yet other effects, all of which may contribute the creation of conditions that are conducive to the advancement of the carcinogenic process.

Phase 3. The Phase Involving Impairment of
Cellular Respiration and Metabolism

Causal and conditioning factors involved in this phase can include any or all of those just listed.  This phase can exhibit some, if not all, of the following characteristics, that typically occur in increasing degrees of severity as the disease progresses:

  • Respiration of affected cells changes toward anaerobic respiration

  • Enzymatic alterations

  • Degeneration of the extracellular environment

  • Increasing vascularization and nutrient utilization of tumor cells

  • Impairment of host capacity to get rid of affected cells owing to a protective sheath surrounding tumor   cells and overtaxing or absence of an adequate immune response, altered enzymatic activity, and impaired detoxification capacity of the host

  • Impairment of metabolism with breakdown in carbohydrate   metabolism with accompanying impacts on essential body systems.

Phase 4. The Phase Involving
Unchecked Cell Proliferation or Cell Differentiation

All the factors that have been listed in the previous three phases can be either directly or indirectly involved in the fourth phase that is characterized by unchecked cell proliferation or differentiation.  Most typically, this phase would seem to be characterized by or accompanied by the following:

  • Movement toward total breakdown of the immune response

  • Movement toward serious or total impairment of the body’s detoxification capabilities

  • Nutritional imbalances, including major imbalances in body chemistry

  • Cellular and systemic health degeneration

  • Degeneration of mental and emotional health.

Phase 5. The Final Stages of Carcinogenesis Phase

This phase is simply a culmination of the previous phases.  Despite the variety of causes found in the beginning phases, the end phases of the carcinogenic process usually have a great deal in common.  The final phase can involve the final degeneration of some if not all of the body’s systems and a final breakdown at the cellular level.  It can also simply involve the breakdown in one necessary vital function of the body.  Such a breakdown can short circuit the prolonged version of the process and culminate in early death.

The final phase can be characterized by some if not all of the following:

  • Near total degeneration of nutritional status and near total imbalance of overall body chemistry

  • Near total collapse of the body’s detoxification capacity

  • Near total collapse of the immune response

  • Near total cellular and systemic health degeneration

  • Near total degeneration of mental and emotional health.

A circular diagram of the stages of carcinogenesis.

Applicability of the Theoretical Perspective to Any Given Case History of Carcinogenesis

Any given case history of carcinogenesis can have many unique characteristics as far as the various different combinations and groupings or sequencing of the causal factors and of the different phases.  Differences in the full range of exogenous and endogenous conditions and circumstances can explain most fully the variations that can be found.  Included in the endogenous conditions are those latent conditions that differ from person to person and that can come into play at different times as the disease progresses, thus explaining some of the other variations that can be seen.

The tables that follow describe two hypothetical cases that have progressed to the final phase of carcinogenesis.  Each case progresses through the five basic phases, with a repeat of the causal and conditioning facts phases.  The sequencing of these phases varies in the two hypothetical cases.

In no early appearances of a phase would one expect to find in play at once and in equal prominence all the potential factors or elements that can potentially characterize that phase.   In the early phases, most typically only a few of these factors or elements will play prominent roles at one time.  For this reason, each phase in the two hypothetical cases described here is characterized by several different factors that one would not be surprised to find in play at once.

This depiction of the historical evolution of two hypothetical cases demonstrates two major uses of the theory:

  • The theory provides a way of characterizing the progressive phases involved in any given case of carcinogenesis; and

  • The theory serves to reveal cancer as a disease involving variation on themes that are themselves varied, e.g., varying with respect to the character of the phases of the process and the sequencing and time of those phases.

Table 2.  Case A:  Causal or Conditioning Factors Phase

  • Subjection to environmental carcinogens

  • Inadequate diet

  • Deterioration of cellular integrity

  • Stress

Table 3.  Case A:  Impairment of Cell Function and Structure Phase

  • Inadequate free radical scavengers

  • Unwanted free radical reactions

  • DNA damage

  • Faulty DNA repair

Table 4.  Case A:  Impairment of Cell Respiration and Metabolism Phase

  • Enzymatic alterations

  • Respiration of affected cells changes toward anaerobic respiration

  • Impairment of metabolism

  • Impairment of host capacity to get rid of affected cells

Table 5.  Case A:  Causal or Conditional Factors Phase (Phase 1 Recurs Involving Different Factors)

  • Impaired immune defense

  • Histological abnormalities

  • Deterioration of cellular integrity

  • Impaired detoxification of body wastes

Table 6.  Case A:  Unchecked Cell Proliferation or Differentiation Phase

  • Movement toward total breakdown of immune response

  • Movement toward serious or total impairment of host detoxification capacity

  • Cellular and systemic health degeneration

  • Degeneration of mental and emotional health

Table 7. Case A:  Final Stages of Carcinogenesis Phase

  • Near total degeneration of nutritional status and near total imbalance of overall body chemistry

  • Near total collapse of the body’s detoxification capacity

  • Near total collapse of the immune response

  • Near total cellular and systemic health degeneration

  • Near total degeneration of mental and emotional health

Table 8.  Case B:  Causal or Conditioning Factors Phase

  • Impaired detoxification of body wastes

  • Impaired metabolism

  • Inadequacy of exposure to fresh air and sunlight

  • Impaired respiration

Table 9.  Case B:  Simultaneously Occurring Phases:  Impairment of Cell Function and Structure Phase along with *Impairment of Cell Respiration and Metabolism Phase

  • DNA damage

  • Alteration of the normal electrolytic character of the cell

  • Enzymatic alteration

  • Cellular disorganization

  • Respiration of affect cells changes toward anaerobic respiration

  • Degeneration of extracellular environment

  • Impairment of capacity to get rid of affected cells

  • Impairment of metabolism

Table 10.  Case B:  Causal or Conditioning Factors Phase (Phase 1 Recurs Involving Different Factors)

  • Inadequate nutrition

  • Deterioration of cellular integrity

  • Impaired immune defense

  • Impaired detoxification of body wastes

  • Impaired microbiome

Table 11.  Case B:  Unchecked Cell Proliferation of Differentiation

  • Cellular and systemic health degeneration

  • Movement toward total breakdown of immune response

  • Nutritional imbalances, including major imbalances in body chemistry

  • Serious impairment of host detoxification capacity

Table 12.  Case B:  Final Stages of Carcinogenesis Phase

  • Near total collapse of the body’s detoxification capacity

  • Near total collapse of the immune response

  • Near total systemic health degeneration

Having provided an overview of this theory of carcinogenesis and having demonstrated how it can be used to describe variations in the way in which the carcinogenic process can progress, I will now turn to the concept of anti-carcinogenesis.

A painting of a seagull flying over the ocean.
Gift from a Gifted Artist

The Theory of Anti-Carcinogenesis

Potentially of enormous importance to cancer prevention and treatment, as well as diagnosis and prognosis, is the counter theory of anti-carcinogenesis and the anti-carcinogenic strategies that it suggests.  H.L. Falk [v] and Harold G. Petering [vi] had been concerned with this concept in their work.  Anti-Carcinogenesis was first defined by H.G. Crabtree in 1947. [vii]   Crabtree’s definition has been slightly augmented here.  (The most significant modifications are indicated in bold font in the paragraph below.)

The term “anti-carcinogenesis” applies to any or all aspects of processes which delay or prevent the emergence of malignant characteristics or cause or contribute to the regression of malignant characteristics in any tissue of any species of organism.   Within a given species, the factors involved in such processes range from those relating to the natural biological background of the host; that is, its genetic, endocrine, and metabolic constitution, to the many varieties of interference—dietic, hormonal, chemical, or physical – imposed in, as well as out of, clinical or laboratory settings.

A briefer way of defining “anti-carcinogenesis” would be as shown in Table 13:

Table 13.    Anti-Carcinogenesis

Anti-Carcinogenesis involves processes or measures that are anti-

neoplastic in character that aim at or result in the prevention, arresting,

or regression of neoplasia, including steps taken to enhance cellular or

systemic health that protect against carcinogenesis.

The premise underlying this theoretical perspective is that once the essential aspects of a given case of cancer are comprehended, anti-carcinogenic measures that need to be taken to reverse or regress the carcinogenic process can be more readily identified and acted upon.

Another major premise is that maintenance of an optimal level of health is an essential in the prevention of cancer.  The epidemiological literature provides abundant support for this premise.  Steps taken toward the progressive optimization of overall health are essential to the effectiveness of treatment and to the successful regression of cancer.

The measures that can be taken to regress or prevent cancer can actually be seen to be counter steps or measures, that is, steps or measures that are counter to each aspect or element of each phase of the carcinogenic process as they have been described above.

The Five Basic Phases in the Anti-Carcinogenic Process

The first phases in anti-carcinogenesis can be seen as being counter to the causal or conditioning factors phase of carcinogenesis.  In anti-carcinogenesis, the first phase can be thought of as involving the maintenance of cellular and systemic health.  All five phases in anti-carcinogenesis are shown in the following table.

Table 14.   The Five Basic Phases in the Anti-carcinogenic Process

  • Maintenance of cellular and systemic health,

  • Normalization of cell function and structure,

  • Normalization of cellular respiration and metabolism, and

  • Arresting of unchecked cell proliferation or differentiation

  • Gradual restoration and regeneration of overall health, especially rebuilding of cellular and systemic health and the immune response.

Phase 1: The Maintenance of Cellular and Systemic Health Phase

The first phase of anti-carcinogenesis includes the following:

  • Protection against environmental toxins, mutagens, carcinogens, radiation, and genotoxins, including by the use of anti-carcinogenic regimen,

  • Normalization of cell function and structure,

  • Removal of harmful substances from the diet or from medical treatment or hygienic or cosmetic regimens,

  • Rectification of dietary imbalances,

  • Protective measures to prevent or buffer effects of unwanted free radical reactions,

  • Adequacy of exposure to fresh air and sunlight,

  • Protective measures to prevent histological abnormalities or irritations or to buffer their effects,

  • Adequacy of exposure to fresh air and sunlight,

  • Protective measures to prevent histological abnormalities or irritations or to buffer their effects,

  • Steps to strengthen cellular integrity,

  • Steps to strengthen the integrity of the extracellular environment,

  • Steps to assure maintenance of intracellular organization with particular attention to the maintenance of a balance in body chemistry,

  • Protective measures to prevent shock or stress and to buffer effects when it occurs, including periodic removal from an environment when ion or magnetic imbalances persist,

  • Optimizing of digestion and the microbiome,

  • Optimizing of detoxification processes,

  • Rectifying of enzymatic or hormonal balances,

  • Rectifying of poor health and hygienic habits, including overweight and mental depression or anxiety,

  • Optimization of respiration, including adequate oxygenation, adequate depth of breathing, treatment of anemic or atherosclerotic conditions,

  • Enhancement of metabolism, including adequate exercise,

  • Optimization of overall health,

  • Attention to factors in health history that could lead to systemic, organic, or cellular degeneration, and

  • Protective measures to counter genetic factors that may predispose to cancer.

Phase 2: The Phase of Anti-Carcinogenesis Involving
Normalization of Cell Function and Structure

The characteristics of this phase are the following:

  • Preventing or buffering unwanted free radical reactions,

  • Assuring the adequacy of free radical scavenging;

  • Reestablishment of hormonal balance,

  • Reestablishment of hormonal balance,

  • Protection against DNA damage or buffering of the effects,

  • Repair of DNA or managing of the consequences, including maintaining of fully functioning immune defenses,

  • Steps to protect against cellular disorganization,

  • Steps to assure integrity of cell membrane and the normalization of cell functioning and structure,

  • Steps to normalize the electrolytic character of the cell, and

  • Steps to normalize and strengthen the integrity of the extracellular environment.

Phase 3: The Phase of Anti-Carcinogenesis Involving
Normalization of Cellular Respiration and Metabolism

This phase can be seen to include the following:

  • Return of the cells to normal oxygen utilization,

  • Return to normal enzyme production and activity,

  • Strengthening and maintenance of the integrity of the extracellular environment

  • Normalization of vascularization and nutrient utilization of tumor cells

  • Enhancement of capacity to get rid of affected cells that can be stimulated by the use of proteolytic enzymes to help break down the protective sheath surrounding tumor cells and by stimulating or otherwise enhancing the host’s immune response, normalizing enzymatic activity, and improving the host's detoxification capacity; and

  • Return to normalization of carbohydrate metabolism with return to normalization of metabolism generally

Phase 4: The Phase of Anti-Carcinogenesis Involving
Arresting of Unchecked Cell Proliferation or Differentiation

This phase can be seen to include the following:

  • Priming and rebuilding of the immune response,

  • Enhancement or rebuilding of the host's detoxification capacity,

  • Restoration of nutritional balance, including balancing of body chemistry in general,

  • Reversing the process of cellular and systemic health degeneration, and

  • Maintenance of positive mental and emotional health.

Phase 5.  The Final Phase of Anti-Carcinogenesis

In the final phase of anti-carcinogenesis involving the gradual restoration and regeneration of overall health, the following are included:

  • Intensified efforts to prime and rebuild the immune response,

  • Intensified efforts to enhance and rebuild the host's detoxification capacity,

  • Intensified efforts to restore nutritional balance, including balancing of body chemistry in general,

  • Intensified efforts to reverse the process of cellular and systemic health degeneration, and

  • Intensified efforts to maintain positive mental and emotional health.

This final phase focuses on the gradual restoration and regeneration of overall health, especially emphasizing the rebuilding of cellular and systemic health and the enhancing of the immune response.  Success is least assured in the final phase because of the extensive general damage that may have been done.  When cancer has progressed to this phase, the essence of efforts must be to intensify the full range of counter measures pertinent to the other four phases in the case in question.  Just as the carcinogenic process involves variations on themes that are themselves varied, so too does the anti-carcinogenic process.

Summation

This paper has described a synthesis of a comprehensive theoretical perspective on carcinogenesis.   Carcinogenesis is viewed as a process that can involve around twenty different causal or preconditioning factors.  As the process evolves, it is seen generally to traverse the five same phases and repetition of phases, the sequencing and timing varying to greater or lesser degrees from one case to another.  The carcinogenic process then is seen as one that can be characterized as involving variations on themes that are themselves varied (with a tip of the hat again to John Cage for his use of this wording in the realm of musical composition).  The onset of carcinogenesis is seen as being characterized by what are often at first, innocuous insults, injuries, deficiencies or imbalances.  Depending on host conditions and environmental circumstances, these can trigger other more serious insults affecting systemic and cellular health. These insults can in turn eventually lead to a chain reaction that results in the appearance of the overt manifestation of cancer.

A perspective on a counter process, anti-carcinogenesis, has also been presented.  Anti-carcinogenesis involves measures that can be taken to reverse or arrest the carcinogenic process or protect against carcinogenesis in the first place.  The major role played by the immune response is highlighted.

A sound theoretical perspective is bound to be an integral factor in the successful replication of measures aimed at preventing, treating, and controlling cancer.  A sound perspective is also essential in the conceptualization and generation of useful research, as well as in the successful application of the results of research that are aimed at preventing, treating, controlling and, ideally, curing cancer.

Endnotes:

[i] D.W. Smithers in his famous lecture entitled “Possibilities in Cancer Prevention.” (The Seventh Maurice Bloch lecture delivered within the University of Glasgow on 23rd November, 1965.  (Retrieved at http://library.unl.edu/record=b1796333*eng .)

[ii] Otto Warburg.  The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer.  English edition by D. Burk, NCI.  Wurtzburg, Germany: Konrad Triltsch, 1969.

[iii] I. Berenblum and P. Shubik (1947). Br. J. Cancer, 1: 379-382.

[iv]  John Cage, the experimental composer and writer, had used such terminology in speaking about some of his musical compositions.

[v] H. L. Falk , Anti-carcinogenesis—an alternative,  Progress in Experimental Tumor Research, Vol. 14, Inhibition of Carcinogenesis, 105 – 137.  F. Homburger, ed., 1971.

[vi]  Harold G. Petering.  Diet, nutrition, and cancer:  inorganic and nutritional aspects of cancer, Advances in experimental medicine and biology   New York:  Plenum Publishing Corp. Vol. 91, pp.  207-228.  1977.  (Abstract information at http://www.find-health-articles.com/rec_pub_605849-diet-nutrition-cancer.htm  )

[vii]  H. G. Crabtree. Anti-Carcinogenesis, British Medical Bulletin, 4:5-6, 345-348, 1947.

[For a copy of the Appendices, please send a request to the author through LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonpaula/]

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