Cancer, GDF-11, & How Stem Cells Actively Fight Abnormal Cell Buildup

[Noitartst]

http://www.eurostemcell.org/stem-cell-news-and-commentary

I don't think it says so, in this article, but I have read of GDF-11, reversing eye cataracts, and reversing growths in general. How exactly does GDF-11promote stem cells to eliminate abnormal cells in general throughout the body? Before hearing of GDF-11, I didn't know that stem cells actively fought bastard cells and the like, and that was sinfiicant, because if we learned how the body fight cancer, we could fight it better, and I don't mean vaccines, though they do have their place.

Vaccines do have their use, but they seem too inflexible a solution for the problem satiate me. Cancer cells are much like stem cells, if not rogue stem cells, and I'd really like to know how stem cells fight rogues. GDF-11 fires up stem cells to battle, and I'd like very much to know how that's the case.

I'm looking for articles, as many as possible, on the Topic. Oh, and what are all the natural anti-cancer factors in the body, andways? It's quite rare in youth, and I like to know all the reasons why that's so.

Also: I know about anti-oxibants, but has anyone tried injecting mega-doses of them into tumors? How compare they to chemo therapy? Anti-oxidants can be toxic, too, but I was thinking they'd probably be less harmful than the current methods.

 

[barbara]

MedScape had an article they republished on antioxidants today. I am always a bit skeptical of such studies because it is almost never clear who is funding them. I don't know if injecting them directly into a tumor would be of any advantage or not. I think you will find an overabundance of articles by doing an internet search. So many, that your head will be swimming. I get several sent to me on a daily basis.



Mythbusters: Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Cancer
Victoria Stern, MA
MedScape

Antioxidants

Dietary Supplements

Proposition: Consuming antioxidant-rich supplements may protect against cancer and prevent tumor growth.

What the science says: Dietary supplement use has become particularly prevalent among cancer patients. One review found that 64% to 81% of cancer survivors take vitamin and mineral supplements and 14% to 32% of patients begin using supplements after they're diagnosed.[26]

Antioxidants in particular have garnered notoriety for their potential to heal. Hype over the therapeutic properties of antioxidants began to emerge after research revealed that consuming fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants, may lower the incidence of cancer and heart disease and prolong life.[27]

Antioxidants do participate in an essential biological balancing act: The human body naturally produces antioxidants to neutralize the effects of oxidation. During oxidation, the body generates free radicals -- unstable molecules that can damage cells by tearing away their electrons -- and an overabundance of free radicals has been linked to an increased risk for cancer.

But when researchers began examining the role that antioxidant supplementation might play in cancer prevention, the evidence was largely disappointing. The bulk of studies found that antioxidant supplements do not reduce the risk for cancer or prevent tumor growth, and that antioxidant supplementation may actually increase people's likelihood of dying from cancer.

In a 2004 meta-analysis from the Lancet, researchers evaluated 14 RCTs that compared the effects of antioxidant supplementation with a placebo on the incidence of esophageal, gastric, colorectal, pancreatic, and liver cancers.[27] They found that consuming vitamins A, C, and E and beta-carotene and selenium supplements actually increased overall mortality. A 2009 RCT in JAMA, which explored the effects of selenium and vitamin E supplementation on prostate cancer risk in 35,533 healthy men, failed to find evidence that selenium, vitamin E, or both supplements reduced participants' risk for prostate cancer.[28] In fact, the study uncovered an increased risk for prostate cancer in participants who consumed vitamin E. A follow-up to this trial, also published in JAMA, revealed that vitamin E supplements increased the risk for prostate cancer in healthy men.[29]

For cancer patients receiving radiation therapy, antioxidant supplements may be harmful. A 2006 RCT of 540 patients with head and neck cancer who were undergoing radiation treatment found that patients who consumed vitamin E and beta-carotene supplements each day had a significantly increased likelihood of dying compared with those who took a placebo.[30]

What the experts say: According to Dr. Rock, "Consuming antioxidants through fruits and vegetables is the best option for cancer patients. When we get our antioxidants from food, our body can regulate how much cells are actually exposed to, whereas supplements may shock the body with high doses of a substance. In fact, antioxidants derived from supplements may interact with chemotherapy and radiation therapy and thus be potentially dangerous. Chemotherapy creates oxidative stress that kills cancer cells, so taking antioxidants may interfere with that process, making it more likely that the therapy won't work."

Yale's Dr. Novella also stressed that although vitamins and herbs may seem harmless, "they can have potent pharmacologic activity, which may counteract chemotherapy. Another problem with supplements is that they are poorly regulated, so users don't really know what they're getting in terms of dose or purity."

 

[Noitartst]

Barbra. You may be right, but I'm trying to find what does work. WHat are stem weaknesses? For one, I hear many cancers are anaerobic, and that offers a very easy anti-biotic vector in dealing with cancer, given most body cells are aerobic--who has tried this?

Another is that cancer, like stem cells, rapidly divide, and thus need more food, i.e. energy, than most other cells. Chemotherapy is based on the idea that it'll eat more poison than the cells around it, but is there another approach based on this tendency?

The other idea is to stop cancer stem cells from growing, or at least slow them down. And I've heard of geneticist's ideas for that in the lab, too.
Turning cancer cells back into more-normal cells, however, seems to be the most workable solution yet, even if it leaves inertly harmless body growths.

Q: What percentage of all cancers are anaerobic, and how lethal are they?

 

[Danna Reynolds]

Great research! Stem cell has great capabilities of treating cancers cells.
Also Consuming antioxidant rich food and supplement prevent cancer.