Fwd: Low Oxygen = predicts cancer reurrence

[Guest guest]

Hello Does this put a whole different outlook on antioxidants ?? like vitamin e, C and numerous other things ??Henry?????????????????????Oxygen In Tumors Predicts Prostate Cancer RecurrenceWritten by: Eurasia ReviewApril 1, 2012Low oxygen levels in tumors can be used to predict cancer recurrence in men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer even before they receive radiation therapy.The clinical research, led by radiation oncologists at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Cancer Program, University Health Network (UHN) is published online today in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-11-2711).“We’ve not only shown that men do worse if they have low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in their prostate cancer, but that they also do worse over a shorter period of time,” says Dr. Milosevic, radiation oncologist in the PMH Cancer Program, UHN. “These patients seem to develop cancer recurrence within only a few years of completing treatment.”“This information could change the way prostate cancer is treated and goes a long way to ensuring that all patients receive the right treatment from the outset – based on their individual tumour,” says Dr. Milosevic, who is also a professor of radiation oncology at the University of Toronto. “At the heart of it, this is what personalized medicine is all about.”Prostate cancer is commonly treated with surgery or radiation therapy, and yet cancer recurs or spreads in about 25% of treated men. The discovery of indicators, such as low oxygen in tumours, enables doctors to better select the most appropriate and effective treatments for each patient even before radiation therapy is delivered.Dr. Milosevic and colleagues measured oxygen levels in 247 men with localized prostate cancer prior to radiation therapy and followed them for a median of 6.6 years. Low oxygen in the tumors predicted early relapse after radiation treatment. It was also the only identified factor that predicted local recurrence during follow-up.“We believe that a tumour’s genetic signature will be another promising predictor of recurrence,” says Dr. Bristow, radiation oncologist in the PMH Cancer Program, UHN, and professor in the departments of radiation oncology and medical biophysics at the University of Toronto. “Combined, these indicators may signal that the cancer has spread at a previously-undetectable level.”Dr. Milosevic and colleagues hope that identifying the factors that influence prostate cancer behavior will lead to the exploration of new drugs to target hypoxia in tumors. The findings may also accelerate the development of new treatment strategies – informing physicians when complementary treatment may be more effective. .“Knowing what works for which patient will make treatment more effective and improve outcomes for patients,” says Dr. Milosevic.About the author:Eurasia ReviewEurasia ReviewApril 1, 2012HealthNo Comments

[Guest guest]

Chuck Maack wrote:

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> http://www.normalbreathing.com/co2-antioxidants-free-radicals.php

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> http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=19990303153824

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There's some pretty funky stuff in those articles.

The first one only cites articles written in Russian or in Czech.

I didn't read it closely, but the hypothesis that how you breathe

is important in your health has to at least confront the problem

of the fact that our body controls our breathing to bring in the

oxygen it needs.  I've heard of people breathing to hard when

stressed (hyperventilation), but I haven't heard of people not

breathing hard enough.  I suppose it can happen.  It certainly

happens to people with COPD or emphysema.  But I'm suspicious.

The second one has some strange comments in it, like:

    " if an electron is removed from an atom, it is like an atom

    bomb going off " .

An atom bomb?  Is that supposed to be a metaphor or a pun?

or how about:

    " In every cell in your body, except one, you have catalase "

Hmmmm.  We are thought to have around 10^15 cells.  Which one

doesn't have catalase?  It's a pretty odd claim.

Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizing agent.  Conventional

wisdom holds that that's bad.  The highly reactive oxygen atoms

in hydrogen peroxide attract electrons away from other molecules.

That makes those other molecules into ions, positively charged

molecules that are more likely to react with other molecules than

the ones that they normally react with in the cell.

Dr. Farr claimed to be able to cure people by injecting hydrogen

peroxide into their bodies.  To his own metaphor, he proposed to

inject atom bombs into your body, presumably on the theory that

the bombs will somehow only explode in diseased cells, not

healthy ones.

Then I notice that Dr. Farr created a company to sell his

hydrogen peroxide cures.  That's strike three for me.

On the original subject of oxygen in tumors, my reading of the

article was that it said nothing at all about the levels of

oxygen in your blood in general, but only about the level of

oxygen in the tumors.  It's not at all clear to me, for example,

that hyperventilating, which puts extra oxygen in your blood,

would do much to oxygenate your tumors, even if you could manage

to do it for any sustained period without passing out.

Presumably, something is happening in the tumors that isn't

happening in the rest of the body and is a symptom of more

dangerous changes in the cells.

    Alan

[Guest guest]

Chuck Maack wrote:

> Henry’s initial remark was his concern that antioxidants have

> an effect on causing low oxygen levels.  I was simply (and

> somewhat confusingly) trying to explain that antioxidants play

> no such role and that there are other causes of low oxygen

> levels, among which is a person’s pattern of breathing.

I understand.

I agree that antioxidants play no such role.  Your distinction

between oxidation and oxygenation was spot on.  They are two

different concepts.

Assuming no lung disease (cancer, COPD, emphysema, etc.) and no

heart disease, and the oxygen deprivation is just inside the

tumor cells, then maybe it has to do with the amount of

angiogenesis inside the tumor, i.e. the tumor cells aren't

getting enough blood supply and hence not enough oxygen.  Maybe

the tumors are growing too fast for blood vessel building to keep

up.

Or maybe the cells are getting an adequate oxygen supply but

there are biochemical abnormalities inside the tumor cells that

cause them to use up oxygen at a higher than normal rate.  We see

this in muscle cells during hard exercise.  They burn up

carbohydrates and deplete the oxygen in the cells - causing us to

breathe hard to get more.  Maybe the cancer processes inside the

cells are using energy at a higher than normal rate and are

thereby depleted of oxygen.

> Sifting through the internet I came up with the referenced

> papers that gave at least some examples.

I think we've all been there and done that.

Regards,

    Alan