There are ongoing clinical
trials that search out new medicines. Some of these trials
include altering diet, exercise, and other normal tasks to see
what affects cancer and how cancer can be managed and even
prevented without major surgeries or narcotics.
There are a long line of ridiculous treatments, as seen on the
covers of newsstand weeklies. Doctor’s say that many things
people do, such as diet and exercise, really can affect they
way they feel, however; patients should never believe “miracle
cures” and quick fixes to serious problems. Proper diet and
exercise might not cure cancer, but it can go a long way to
making a patient live healthier.
That’s not to say that some odd sounding treatments aren’t
viable options. One 1998 study by the University of
Wisconsin-Madison used the northern leopard frog in promising
cancer research. These scientists believe they have learned
how medicine works in the body and are generating a whole new
class of drugs that avoid the side effects of most
chemotherapy.The frog connection began more than 20 years
ago when Kuslima Shogen, an embryology student at Fairleigh
Dickinson University in New Jersey, decided to research tumor
development in different stages of frog embryos. Shogen chose
northern leopard frogs simply because they are the standard
frogs used in college laboratories.
Previous research had shown that something in early frog
embryos prevented them from developing tumors. Shogen was able
to develop an extract from those embryos that would make
tumors in frogs disappear. When she found a similar effect
treating other animals -- mice, rabbits, dogs -- she started
Alfacell in 1981 to develop the extract into a drug.
In the late 1980s, researchers discovered that the substance
Shogen isolated was an enzyme called ribonuclease A. A natural
protein found in the bodies of all animals, ribonuclease
breaks apart RNA, chain-like substances similar to DNA that
are essential to the life of a cell. Somehow, Onconase is able
to enter and kill only cancer cells, leaving normal cells
unscathed. The medicine now is in trials for the treatment of
pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma.
Research Gone Wrong
Shark cartilage came to public attention in February 1993
when CBS TV's"60 Minutes" aired a program promoting the claims
of biochemist/entrepreneur I. William Lane, Ph.D., co-author
of the book Sharks Don't Get Cancer. The program highlighted a
Cuban study of allegedly "terminal" cancer patients who
received shark-cartilage preparations. Narrator Mike Wallace
filmed several of the patients doing exercise and reported
that most of them felt better several weeks after the
treatment had begun. The fact that "feeling better" does not
indicate whether a cancer treatment is effective was not
mentioned. Nor was the fact that sharks do get cancer, even of
their cartilage. NCI officials subsequently reviewed the Cuban
data and concluded that they were "incomplete and
unimpressive".
On December 10, 1999, a lawsuit initiated by the FDA was filed
to stop the marketing of shark cartilage and two other
products with unsubstantiated claims of effectiveness against
cancer and other diseases. The government's complaint was
filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S District
Court for the District of New Jersey. The products are:
- BeneFin, which is produced from shark cartilage, as a
treatment for cancer and other diseases;
- SkinAnswer, a glycoalkaloid skin cream, as a treatment for
skin cancer; and
- MGN-3, a rice-bran extract, as a treatment for cancer and
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
According to a study of November 1998 published in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology, shark cartilage is virtually
worthless. As evidence, a researcher in Illinois gave the
pills to 60 patients with terminal cancer of the brain,
breast, colon, prostate, bladder or lymph system. According to
him, the shark cartilage tablets did not prolong or improve
the quality of life. “It doesn't work," he said.
How Do You Know?
How can mesothelioma suffers know what treatments are
researched and which aren’t? Using the Internet to research
treatments is one way to stay informed about which new
treatments are available and which show promise. Also,
proactively talking with physicians about treatments will keep
patients informed of the latest trails. Finally, participating
in a research trial may help patients feel like they are
making a difference in the search for a cure. |
