Practical Implications of Cancer Theories

By Linda L. Isaacs, M.D.

What should a patient do with their newfound knowledge about the Somatic Mutation Theory and about other theories of carcinogenesis?

While you can certainly bring this information up with an oncologist, don’t be surprised if they quickly dismiss it. Most medical students and doctors are taught that the Somatic Mutation Theory is a proven fact, not a theory that some are questioning in the medical peer-reviewed literature. Busy clinicians don’t have time to get into theoretical discussions.

Data from clinical trials always takes precedence over theoretical arguments about what treatments should work. For example, the Somatic Mutation Theory would predict that surgical removal of localized cancer should often be curative. And since that has been shown to be true in many cancers, I would endorse going ahead with it, whether or not the Somatic Mutation Theory makes sense to you. Similarly, chemotherapy has been proven to be beneficial in some conditions, as has radiation, though the benefit may not be curative or even long-lasting. Ask the oncologist for specific results based on clinical trials.

For many years, oncologists said that diet and exercise have nothing to do with outcomes for cancer patients. Dietary changes would not be expected to fix the damaged genome or destroy the malignant cell. But dietary changes could alter the tissue around the cancer, and some of the alternate theories about carcinogenesis would predict that those tissue changes could make a difference. What does the data show? Recent studies have shown that diet and exercise can improve outcomes for various kinds of cancer.

What about “targeted” therapies? The genetic changes in cancer may be due to a reversion to a more primitive cell, and the mutations being targeted are also found in normal cells. This can explain the side effects and also predict that the treatment will not work indefinitely.

What if there is no good data for any available treatment? Knowing that the Somatic Mutation Theory may not be correct can open the door to consideration of different experimental therapies. It may also raise questions about a treatment that relies on the Somatic Mutation Theory to support the method, but has no meaningful data to show it actually works.

Finally, what about prevention? If cancer is not caused by a series of unlucky mutations, but develops as a result of disordered metabolism and environmental influences on the tissue as a whole, that means lifestyle change may help. In other words, continuing to lead the same lifestyle after one cancer develops may make it more likely that another will form. Evidence supports this. Even after curative treatment with surgery or other modalities, once a patient has had one cancer, the incidence of other cancers is higher than that of the general population.

And for those who believe, as Dr Beard believed, that pancreatic enzymes can control the behavior of cancer cells, it makes sense to take some pancreatic enzymes with meals. Please bear in mind that it would take an enormous research study to validate that pancreatic enzymes could help prevent cancer, so I am not saying this has been proven. But on the other hand, what’s the downside? Pancreas, also called “sweetbreads,” has been part of the diet throughout history, considered by many to be a delicacy. The freeze-dried pancreas I recommend is, in essence, meat. I think it is very safe.

This concludes my series on the nature of cancer. If you would like to review it from the beginning, click here.

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