By Eliza Bussey
ARLINGTON, VA Jun 07 (Reuters Health) - An alternative treatment protocol
for pancreatic cancer that uses pancreatic enzymes, dietary supplements and
coffee enemas will begin stage III clinical trials, with a $1.4 million dollar
grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The five-year clinical trial of diet and detoxification at the Columbia
Presbyterian Medical Center in New York by immunologist Dr. Nicholas Gonzales
gained approval after a 1993 pilot study, funded by the National Cancer
Institute (NCI), yielded promising results.
According to a report in NCI's 'Cancer Trials', patients on Gonzales regimen
"lived an average of 17 and a half months--nearly three times the usual survival
period for patients with pancreatic cancer."
Speaking during a pre-conference session Wednesday at Comprehensive Cancer
Care 2000, Gonzales discussed the importance of coffee enemas in his pancreatic
cancer regimen.
"Coffee stimulates the liver to work more efficiently," Gonzalez explained
to Reuters Health. "Killing tumors produces a great deal of waste product that
can cause illness if the material is not eliminated. The medical term for it is
'tumor lysis syndrome'. Coffee enemas aid the liver in breaking down the waste
products."
Gonzales hypothesizes that pancreatic enzymes act like chemotherapy and kill
cancer cells.
Much of his theory is based on a turn of the century treatment from the
University of Edinburgh, he noted.
The regimen calls for specialized diets (all devoid of white sugar and
refined flour), supplemental enzymes, and detoxification with daily coffee
enemas.
"While I am not advocating that anyone try these techniques without
supervision of a physician," Gonzalez said," I believe that people with cancer
should look toward nutrition and detoxification as another method of helping
them cure any type of cancer."
Cancer of the pancreas is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths, and has
one of the highest mortality rates. The five-year survival rate of this cancer
is very low, at 4%. Because symptoms such as abdominal swelling and jaundice
only appear late in the course of the illness, most of these cancers are
diagnosed when the cancer has reached advanced stages.
Between 90 and 100 patients with stage II, III, and IV pancreatic cancers
are currently being enrolled in the study. Researchers will compare patients on
the Gonzalez regimen to a group of patients treated with the drug gemcitabine.
To be eligible for the study, patients "must be between 18 and 65 years of age,
have had no previous chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and not have had surgery
at least a week before enrolling," according to the NCI.
