Can food fight Cancer?

[chivas]

Chemoprevention: Can Food Fight Cancer?
By Alice Villalobos, DVM

Boxers, Bernese mountain dogs, flat-coated retrievers, golden retrievers, cats that are positive for FeLV and FIV, and dogs spayed late in life are at greater risk for developing cancer that their counterparts. Dogs that have undergone amputation for bone cancer and cats that have had breast cancer surgery are at a greater than 90 percent risk for recurrence and death from their cancer. Think of how mnay IBD cats are predisposed to intestinal lymphoma. Sadly, an estimated 50 percent of pets that survive over the age of 10 will die of cancer.

It is postulated that high-risk patients such as the above many receive benefit if placed on chemoprevention. Dr. Philip Bergman, formerly at M.D. Anderson Memorial Cancer Center, Houston, suggested the topic during a talk at the 1999 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum in Chicago. Bergman said cats with VAS and breast cancer experience "field cancerization." We all know that these cats are very susceptible to recurrence within six to nine months despite the best surgical effort. In addition to conventional chemotherapy and radiation, he suggested we consider chemoprevention for these cats. They may benefit if they are permanently given compounds, natural or synthetic, that may reverse or suppress the process of carcinogenesis and recurrence.

Many natural compounds suggested for cancer patients are pharmaceutically formulated and available in health food stores marketed as supplements or sophisticated "nutraceuticals." Often pet owners present a big shopping bag with 20 to 30 different supplements they are feeding Fido. They are confused, and the pet may be having success or upset with so many products. Indeed, some are shown to reduce the risk of cancer, but how does the pet owner really know what is best?

Susan Donoghue, VMD, Dipl. American College of Veterinary Nutrition and past president of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition, said in the early '90s' that it is a real treat for clients if their veterinarians gives nutritional advice, even about what treats to give Fido.

The scientific community is taking a closer look at substances that modify the differentiation of cells and affect the proliferation or mutation of cells as they leap from premalignancy or inflammation toward malignancy. Many physicians find it difficult to accept the circulating information about the role supplements may play in preventative health care. It is difficult for the scientific community to reach a consensus about nutraceuticals that fight cancer without data presented via accepted scientific methodology. The National Cancer Institute has formed a Chemoprevention Branch to fund studies that look at agents that may reduce cancer risk in susceptible patients. Because it took 70 years for the scientific community to accept that Vitamin C cured scurvy, it may take a few more years before flavinoids, vitamin C. beta-carotene, aspirin, selenium, vitamin A (retinoids), Inositol hexaphosphate, mannose, fucose, glucosamine, beta-glucan, fatty acids, etc., are given the official blessing for their role in health care. It is easier for veterinarians to accept the concept that substances found in food can fight cancer because many of us had food animal nutrition courses in our undergraduate training.

The Physicians Health Study, ongoing since 1982, is looking at the role of aspirin and beta-carotene to prevent heart disease and to evaluate its effect on colon cancer. Other large studies are finding protective effects using retinoids for head and neck tumors, tamoxifen (already widely used to prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women for its anti-estrogen effect) in breast cancer survival, and finasteride for prostrate tumors in humans. Laboratory animal studies have shown efficacy using retinoids, antioxidants, beta-carotene, silimarin (milk thistle) and fatty acids.

The Fall 1999 Veterinary Cancer Society Newsletter featured an article on tetracyclines, which may also be added to the list of chemoprevention agents. Cakir and Hahn of the University of Tennessee reported that cell proliferation and collagenase (metalloprotienase) decreases with the use of doxycycline in canine osteosarcoma. Tumor regression was sporadically noted in animals on tetracyclines and was reported by veterinarians more than 20 years ago, but the mechanism was not known. Piroxicam, the NSAID knows as Feldene, was serendipitously discovered by researchers at Purdue to have a 10 percent anticancer effect in canine osteosarcoma and later studies showed benefit for bladder cancer and some other sarcomas.

Not every study of chemoprevention has shown desirable results. The CARET study was suspended when it appeared that smokers experienced an increased risk of lung cancer while taking both vitamin A and beta-carotene. However, even when this failure to produce a good result reinforces the contention that nutraceuticals impact health. Clearly, more work must be done to determine the best applications for the recommendation and use of nutritional supplements.

Many members of the scientific community remain skeptical about nutraceutical data with a long-standing resistance to the Easter concept that "Food is medicine." For more than 10 years, I along with many colleagues have looked at the role of fatty acids, glycoproteins, etc., in cancer. The scientific community is asking, "Can food fight cancer?" If so, we can certainly change our oncology outlook.


Recommendations

Dr. Greg Ogilvie at Colorado State University, along with researchers at Hill's Pet Nutrition, used a diet (now available as Hill's n/d) with a high ratio of fatty acids and argenine (for lymphoma dogs treated with chemotherapy). An additional 100 days of remission was provided to dogs fed the diet as compared to the controls. I like to put all my lymphoma patients on n/d and suggest it for pets with other types of cancer as a healthy diet, especially if they are going to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

I also recommend Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) derived from soybeans, rice, sesame, beans, legumes and cereals. IP6 is a sugar found in fiber that is anti-carcinogenic and has potent antioxidant action. I use one capsule of IP6 per 10 to 15 pounds per day divided orally (dissolved in water) on an empty stomach. If the owner can afford to add beta-glucan, I recommend it for its ability to stimulate macrophage activity. If the pet has liver problems or cancer of the liver, I recommend milk thistle for its proven ability as a flavinoid to improve the solubility of bile and enhance the detoxification process. It also prevents depletion of glutathione, raises glutathione levels up to 35 percent and protects the liver from damage.

In the future, we humans will take our gene map to the doctor and get recommendations for chemoprevention of the diseases we are predisposed to suffer from. This type of preventative medicine will be taken seriously as more and more agents, including nutraceuticals and glycoproteins, are shown to prevent immune mediated disease, arthritis, degenerative nerve disease, fibromyalgia, attention deficit syndrome, autism and cancer.

Likewise, pet owners are constantly searching for the best supplements for their pets, especially when cancer strikes. We can provide judicious nutritional advice for selected diets and nutraceuticals that may help pet owners fight the battle against cancer in their susceptible and senior pets with the goal of chemoprevention.

[mmgy]

Many physicians find it difficult to accept the circulating information about the role supplements may play in preventative health care. It is difficult for the scientific community to reach a consensus about nutraceuticals that fight cancer without data presented via accepted scientific methodology.

This is SO TRUE! Thank heavens it might be gathering speed towards change.

[Carina43]

This is from some research at Colorado State:
http://web.archive.org/web/200106022.../nutrition.htm

Basically saying that a diet low in carbohydrates and high in fats & proteins may well make a difference.
There's another Colorado State (the vet school) study indicating that a high carb (grain) diet is perhaps implicated in causing cancer, but I cannot find that article, the Co state site seems to be down.
Hopefully MaryDVM will chime in.

Oh - there's a lot of info here too:
http://www.bowchow.com/specific.html

[mmgy]

Originally Posted by Carina43

This is from some research at Colorado State:
http://web.archive.org/web/200106022.../nutrition.htm

I thought about that last night after I posted, I was wondering when this was written. 2001 isn't so long ago though, so I might print it off for my vet anyway.