Cancer nanotechnology, challenges and achievements

Cancer is one of the world’s most life threatening diseases, with millions of new cases every year. The war against this disease is going on strong. Some battles have been won and others lost, but the weapons that this disease uses are really powerful. They are heterogenity, adaption and resistance. The scientific community has been actively researching on the development of new and improved weapons to overcome and finally win the battle against cancer. Here we will talk about the current approaches against this life threatening disease. 

It is widely known that current cancer treatments include: 

1. Surgical intervention 

2. Radiation 

3. Chemotherapeutic drugs, which often also kill healthy cells and cause toxicity to the patient. 

Unfortunately the effectiveness of current cancer treatments depends on the early diagnosis and the type of cancer. It is therefore needed to develop chemotherapeutics that can either passively or actively target cancerous cells and eliminate them effectively. 

In summary 'passive targeting' investigates the characteristic features of tumur biology that allows nanocarriers to accumulate in the tumor site by the Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect. 

The EPR effect is a unique phenomenon of solid tumors related to their anatomical and pathophysiological differences from healthy tissues. Angiogenesis, which is a physiological process involving the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, leads to high vascular density in solid tumors. Large gaps exist between endothelial cells in tumor blood vessels, and tumor tissues show selective extravasation and retention of macromolecular drugs, which is the desired effect in order to see the therapeutic efficacy and the shrinkage or elimination of tumors.

Impaired reticuloendothelial/ lymphatic clearance of macromolecules from tumor, or lack of such clearance, is another unique characteristic of tumors, resulting in intratumor retention of macromolecular drugs thus delivered. 

It has been found that the effective pore size in the endothelial lining of blood vessels in most peripheral human tumors ranges from 200 to 600 nm in diameter, and the EPR effect allows for passive targeting to tumors based on the cut-off size of leaky vasculature. 

But on the other hand there are a lot of limitations to the passive targeting, and one way to overcome these limitations is to program the nanocarriers so that they actively bind to specific cells after extravasation. 

This binding may be achieved by attaching targeting agents such as ligands, which are molecules that bind to specific receptors on the cell surface, to the surface of the nanocarrier by a variety of conjugation chemistries. 

Nanocarriers will recognize and bind to target cells through ligand–receptor interactions, and bound carriers are internalized before the drug is released inside the cell. In general, when using a targeting agent to deliver nanocarriers to cancer cells, it is imperative that the agent binds with high selectivity to molecules that are uniquely expressed on the cell surface, so that it minimizes the undesired and strong side effects of the cancer therapy. This is otherwise known as active targeting. 

But what are nanocarriers? Why are they important in cancer diagnosis and therapy? Why not just use the traditional chemotherapeutic drugs? What are their advantages over the current approved cancer treatments? How many types of nanocarriers have been discovered and what is the future perspective? If you want to know more specifics on nanocarriers you can read my other post on this topic entitled 'Nanocarriers for cancer therapy'. 

To simply define, a nanocarrier is nanomaterial composite, used as a transport mean for another substance, such as a drug or an imaging agent, which can be monitored by a specific machine. Such carriers should be targeted to the pathological area to provide maximum therapeutic efficacy while also providing diagnostic imaging. 

The family of nanocarriers includes polymer conjugates, polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based carriers such as liposomes and micelles, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, and gold nanoparticles, including nanoshells and nanocages. 

Several therapeutic nanocarriers have been approved for clinical use. However, to date, there are only a few clinically approved nanocarriers that incorporate molecules to selectively bind and target cancer cells. Cancer has been the most often investigated among the many potential targets for these nanocarriers. 

Integration of diagnostic imaging capability with therapy may be key to overcoming the challenges of cancer heterogeneity and adaption. In addition, codelievery of imaging contrast agent and chemotherapeutic drugs can provide real-time validation of the targeting strategy, resulting in an another step forward for individual-based therapy. 

If molecular targets became unavailable, imaging can be used to map out alternative targets. The advantage of this approach is that it can provide early feedback of therapeutic efficacy before detection by means of traditional diagnosis, such as tumor shrinkage. 

That is why “theranostic” was originally used as a term to describe a treatment platform that combines a diagnostic test with targeted therapy and which monitors response to therapy. We will talk more in deep about 'theranostics' in another post, because it is a fascinating and a very promising topic. 

In theranostic treatments imaging can be used to track nanoparticles systemically, prevalidate appropriate targeting, and track the expression pattern of surface markers for adaptive targeting, as well as provide real-time information on tumor response. It is very important to see how the therapy is going, because the canccer therapy has pretty strong side effects, that may be lethal and if it is controlled that the chemotherapeutic drug is not arriving at its tumore target, the treatment regime can be urgently changed, before the damage happens and shows the symptoms in the organism. The surface properties of the polymeric nanoparticulate drug delivery systems play a key role on the biological behavior that is shown in the organism by the drug delivery system.

Surface modification can be defined as the improvement and replacement of the surface properties of nano-sized drug delivery systems. In the field of pharmaceutical technology, surface modification provides several advantages to improve the physicochemical properties and pharmaceutical activities of many nanosized carriers particularly polymeric nanoparticles. 

By the modification circulation times are prolonged, especially the accumulation in the tumor tissues is improved to higher levels.

On the other hand lipid-based carriers pose several challenges, which represent general issues in the use of other targeted nanocarriers such as polymeric nanoparticles. For example, upon intravenous injection, particles are rapidly cleared from the bloodstream by the reticuloendothelial defence mechanism, regardless of particle composition. 

Moreover, instability of the carrier and burst drug release, as well as non-specific uptake by the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS), provides additional challenges for translating these carriers to the clinic. 

Several anticancer drugs enter the cells in our body through diffusion method. But there are some integral proteins in the cell membrane that are known as MDR transporters, which transport a variety of anticancer drugs out of the cancer cell and produce resistance against chemotherapy. As a solution to this challenge the delivery of drugs through targeted nanocarriers that are internalized by cells, can provide an alternative route to diffusion of drugs into cells. 

It is very important not to forget that cancer drug resistance is very complex and has been linked to elevated levels of enzymes that can neutralize chemotherapeutic drugs. However, it is more frequently due to the overexpression of MDR transporters that actively pump chemotherapeutic drugs out of the cell and reduce the intracellular drug doses below lethal threshold levels. 

Since fortunately not all cancer cells express the MDR transporters, chemotherapy will kill only drug-sensitive cells that do not or only mildly express MDR transporters, while leaving behind a small population of drug resistant cells that highly express MDR transporters. But with new forming tumors, chemotherapy may fail because residual drug-resistant cells can dominate over the normal cells, resulting in a more aggressive tumor mass.

Among the MDR transporters, the most widely investigated proteins are: P-glycoprotein, the multidrug resistance associated proteins and the breast cancer resistance protein. These proteins have different structures, but they share a similar function of expelling chemotherapy drugs from the cells. 

Combination treatments with targeted nanocarriers for selective delivery of drugs and MDR pump inhibitors will likely address some of the problems posed by resistant tumors in the future.

Do not forget that it is always better to prevent than to cure, so do not neglect the regular check ups at the doctor and if you have familiar history with the cancer disease double them up to twice a year.

Stay well!

References:

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2. Alonso, M.J. Nanomedicines for overcoming biological barriers. Biomed. Pharmacother. 58,168–172 (2004).

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8. Peer, D. & Margalit, R. Fluoxetine and reversal of multidrug resistance. Cancer Lett. 237, 180–187 (2006).

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Nanocarriers for cancer therapy

Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and therapy. Advances in protein engineering and materials science have contributed to new nanoscale targeting approaches that may bring new hope to cancer patients. 

Active approaches achieve this by conjugating nanocarriers containing chemotherapeutics with molecules that bind to overexpressed antigens or receptors on the target cells. 

Nanocarriers can offer many advantages over free drugs. They: 

• protect the drug from premature degradation; 

• prevent drugs from prematurely interacting with the biological environment; 

• enhance absorption of the drugs into a selected tissue (for example, solid tumour); 

• control the pharmacokinetic and drug tissue distribution profile; 

• improve intracellular penetration. 

For rapid and effective clinical translation, the nanocarrier should: 

• be made from a material that is biocompatible, well characterized, and easily functionalized; 

• exhibit high differential uptake efficiency in the target cells over normal cells (or tissue); 

• be either soluble or colloidal under aqueous conditions for increased effectiveness; 

• have an extended circulating half-life, a low rate of aggregation, and a long shelf life. 

The use of different pharmaceutical nanocarriers has become one of the most important areas of nanomedicine. Nanocarriers first reached clinical trials in the mid-1980s, and the first products, based on liposomes and polymer–protein conjugates, were marketed in the mid-1990s. Later, therapeutic nanocarriers based on this strategy were approved for wider use and methods of further enhancing targeting of drugs to cancer cells were investigated. For a summary of this methods you can read the post entitled 'Cancer nanotechnology, the most important challenges and achievements'. 

Nanocarriers are nanosized materials (diameter 1–100 nm) that can carry multiple drugs and/or imaging agents. Nanocarriers can also be used to increase local drug concentration by carrying the drug within and control-releasing it when bound to the targets. 

Nanocarriers encounter numerous barriers en route to their target, such as mucosal barriers and non-specific uptake. To address the challenges of targeting tumors with nanotechnology, it is necessary to combine the rational design of nanocarriers with the fundamental understanding of tumor biology. 

Despite the variety of novel drug targets and sophisticated chemistries available, only four drugs (doxorubicin, camptothecin, paclitaxel, and platinate) and four polymers have been repeatedly used to develop polymer–drug conjugates. 

Lipid-based carriers have attractive biological properties, including general biocompatibility, biodegradability, isolation of drugs from the surrounding environment, and the ability to entrap both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. Through the addition of agents to the lipid membrane or by the alteration of the surface chemistry, properties of lipid-based carriers, such as their size, charge, and surface functionality, can easily be modified. 

Liposomes, polymersomes, and micelles represent a class of amphiphile-based particles. Liposomes are spherical, self-closed structures formed by one or several concentric lipid bilayers with inner aqueous phases. They vary in size from 50 to 1,000 nm and can be loaded with a variety of hydrophilic drugs into their inner aqueous compartment and, sometimes, even with water insoluble drugs into the hydrophobic compartment of the phospholipid bilayer. 

They are biologically inert and biocompatible. Drugs included in liposomes are protected from the destructive action of external medium. Liposomal vehicles are very effective candidates for noninvasive imagining and targeted drug delivery. I have done my scientific master thesis on Pegilated liposomes for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

If you are interested to research further you can find my publication, along with other interesting researches, at the Journal of Liposome Research, entitled 'In vitro studies on 5-florouracil-loaded DTPA-PE containing nanosized pegylated liposomes for diagnosis and treatment of tumor'. Given their long history, liposome-based carriers serve as a classic example of the challenges encountered in the development of nanocarriers and the strategies that have been tried. For example, PEG has been used to improve circulation time by stabilizing and protecting micelles and liposomes from opsonization, which is a plasma protein deposition process that signals Kupffer cells in the liver to remove the carriers from circulation.

In addition to rapid clearance, another challenge is the fast burst release of the chemotherapeutic drugs from the liposomes. To overcome this phenomenon, doxorubicin, for example, may be encapsulated in the liposomal aqueous phase by an ammonium sulphate gradient. 

This method achieves a stable drug entrapment with negligible drug leakage during circulation, even after prolonged residence in the blood stream. 

In clinical practice, liposomal systems have shown preferential accumulation in tumours, via the EPR effect, and reduced toxicity of their cargo. I will not go into detail on the EPR effect, because we talked about it in the article 'Cancer nanotechnology, the most important challenges and achievements'. If you want to learn more on the EPR effect please read it. 

However, long-circulating liposomes may lead to extravasation of the drug in unexpected sites. The most commonly experienced clinical toxic effect from the PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin is the hand-foot syndrome, but that can be addressed by changing the dosing and scheduling of the treatment. 

Other challenges facing the use of liposomes in the clinic include the high production cost, fast oxidation of some phospholipids, and lack of controlled-release properties of encapsulated drugs. 

Polymersomes on the other hand have an architecture similar to that of liposomes, but they are composed of synthetic polymer amphiphiles. However, as with polymer therapeutics, there are still no clinically approved strategies that use active cellular targeting for lipid-based carriers. 

Micelles, which are self-assembling closed lipid monolayers with a hydrophobic core and hydrophilic shell, have been successfully used as pharmaceutical carriers for water-insoluble drugs. 

Organic nanoparticles include dendrimers, viral capsids and nanostructures made from biological building blocks such as proteins. 

Dendrimers are synthetic, branched macromolecules that form a tree-like structure whose synthesis represents a relatively new field in polymer chemistry. Polyamidoamine dendrimers have shown promise for biomedical applications because they can be easily conjugated with targeting molecules, imaging agents, and drugs, have high water solubility and well-defined chemical structures, are biocompatible, and are rapidly cleared from the blood through the kidneys, made possible by their small size (<5nm), which eliminates the need for biodegradability. 

In vivo delivery of dendrimer–methotrexate conjugates using multivalent targeting results in a tenfold reduction in tumour size compared with that achieved with the same molar concentration of free systemic methotrexate. This work provided motivation for further pre-clinical development, and a variety of dendrimers are now under investigation for cancer treatment. 

Although promising, dendrimers are more expensive than other nanoparticles and require many repetitive steps for synthesis, posing a challenge for large-scale production. 

Inorganic nanoparticles are primarily metal based and have the potential to be produced with near monodispersity. Inorganic materials have been extensively studied for magnetic resonance imaging and high-resolution superconducting quantum interference devices. Inorganic particles may also be functionalized to introduce targeting molecules and drugs. Specific types of recently developed inorganic nanoparticles include nanoshells and gold nanoparticles. 

Nanoshells (100–200 nm) may use the same carrier for both imaging and therapy. They are composed of a silica core and a metallic outer layer. Nanoshells have optical resonances that can be adjusted to absorb or scatter essentially anywhere in the electromagnetic spectrum, including the near infrared region, where transmission of light through tissue is optimal. Absorbing nanoshells are suitable for hyperthermia-based therapeutics, where the nanoshells absorb radiation and heat up the surrounding cancer tissue. 

Scattering nanoshells, on the other hand, are desirable as contrast agents for imaging applications. Recently, a cancer therapy was developed based on absorption of NIR light by nanoshells, resulting in rapid localized heating to selectively kill tumours implanted in mice. Tissues heated above the thermal damage threshold displayed coagulation, cell shrinkage and loss of nuclear staining, which are indicators of irreversible thermal damage, whereas control tissues appeared undamaged. 

A similar approach involves gold nanocages which are smaller (<50 nm) than the nanoshells. These gold nanocages can be constructed to generate heat in response to NIR light and thus may also be useful in hyperthermia-based therapeutics. Unlike nanoshells and nanocages, pure gold nanoparticles are relatively easy to synthesize and manipulate. 

Non-specific interactions that cause toxicity in healthy tissues may impede the use of many types of nanoparticles, but using inorganic particles for photo-ablation significantly limits non-specific toxicity because light is locally directed. However, inorganic particles may not provide advantages over other types of nanoparticles for systemic targeting of individual cancer cells because they are not biodegradable or small enough to be cleared easily, resulting in potential accumulation in the body, which may cause long-term toxicity. 

The choice of an appropriate nanocarrier is not easy, and the few existing comparative studies are difficult to interpret because several factors may simultaneously affect biodistribution and targeting. In addition, developing suitable screening methodologies for determining optimal characteristics of nanocarriers remains a challenge. Therefore, successful targeting strategies must be determined experimentally on a case-by-case basis, which is a pretty hard work. 

Systemic therapies using nanocarriers require methods that can overcome non-specific uptake by mononuclear phagocytic cells and by non-targeted cells. It is also not clear to what extent this is possible without substantially increasing the complexity of the nanocarrier and without influencing commercial scale-up. 

Improved therapeutic efficacy of targeted nanocarriers has been established in multiple animal models of cancer, and currently more than 120 clinical trials are underway with various antibody-containing nanocarrier formulations. 

For the doctor, in addition to enhancing confidence through the ability to image the type and location of the tumor, it is undoubtedly needed to construct appropriate therapeutic regimens. Similar to combination drug strategies that may be personalized to optimize treatment regimens, oncologists in the near future may be presented with the ability to choose specific nanocarrier/targeting molecule combinations which could lead to improved therapeutic outcomes and reduced costs. 

To further investigate how cancer develop and the pathways of cancer development you can read my post 'How does cancer develop?' 

References:

1. Allen, T. M. Long-circulating (sterically stabilized) liposomes for targeted drug-delivery. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 15, 215–220 (1994).

2. Duncan, R., Vicent, M.J., Greco, F. & Nicholson, R.I. Polymer-drug conjugates: towards a novel 

approach for the treatment of endrocine-related cancer. Endocrine-Relat. Cancer 12, S189–S199 (2005).

3. Wong, H.L. et al. A new polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticle system increases cytotoxicity of doxorubicin 

against multidrug-resistant human breast cancer cells. Pharm. Res.23, 1574–1585 (2006).

4. Garcion, E. et al. A new generation of anticancer, drug-loaded, colloidal vectors reverses multidrug 

resistance in glioma and reduces tumor progression in rats. Mol. Cancer Ther. 5, 1710–1722 (2006).

5. Lee, E. S., Na, K. & Bae, Y.H. Doxorubicin loaded pH-sensitive polymeric micelles for reversal of 

resistant MCF-7 tumor. J. Control. Release 103, 405–418 (2005).

How does cancer develop?

Cancer Development

The history of every disease is made of two parts. The first is the history of the outside factor and the second the history of the inside cause... As an old doctor from Thracia would say, all things, good and bad, come from the soul and they flow from there like from a source, all over the body. 
Without draining the source of the bad there can not be neither healing or peace for the soul.

People have been linking cancer development with their spiritual and emotional states for ages. A lot of patients state that their cancer disease has happened after a great neural tension, an abnormal stress, depressive state, or a prolong and deep grieving state. It is possible that difficult emotive states can lower the body immune defenses, leaving so, in an indirect way, open the gate for the development of cancer. But until now this is only hypothetical and needs to be proven from further and more complete studies.

Cancer cells have the ability to multiply continuously, their daughter cells do not die periodically as the normal cells would and they can destroy their normal neighbor cells. The basic characteristic of the malign (bad) tumors is their capability to spread locally and thoroughly in the organism. Cancer cells can destroy the nearby healthy tissues and infiltrate there in different directions. 

During the local infiltration of the cancer cells in the nearby tissues, they can destroy the blood vessel's wall or lymph's and through blood stream and lymphatic circulation, they can go to distant organs or tissues away from the tumor mass. 

If the cancer cells find the right conditions in these distant organs or tissues, that make their life and multiplication possible, they form secondary tumor masses, that are known as metastatic masses, or metastases. This whole picture makes the primary cancer cells seem very diabolic to achieve their aim... The local infiltration makes the surgical removal of tumors very difficult or impossible and the presence of metastatic growth makes it useless...

Cancer to develop needs months or even years. In breast cancer patients, the tumor needs 10-15 years to grow in a size 1-1.5 cm. If the breast cancer tumor is diagnosed in the size 1-1,5 cm, than in 90% of the cases there is a full recovery after the treatment.

That's why the early cancer diagnosis is very important and can save lives. If you want further information on cancer, as a metabolic disease, I encourage you to read the book 'Cancer as a Metabolic Disease' by Thomas Seyfried. 

Causes of cancer

DNA and Cancer

In search for the culpable... This search begins since the appearance of this tumoral disease. Francis W. Peabody says that the disease in a human is never the same as the disease in an animal, because since its beginnings every disease affects and also in the same time is affected by that, which we call the emotive life.   

Studies done to discover the origin and the causes of tumors follow two main directions.

1. Epidemiological studies

This studies aim to make evident the characteristics of spreading of cancers and the frequency of this disease in humans. It is their objective to discover the causes of the observed characteristics. This studies in time have discovered a series of social, environmental and genetic factors that are responsible for the frequent appearance of tumors in specific territories and communities.

2. Experimental studies

The experimental study of tumors has as an objective to prove or disprove the cancerous effects of different agents, such as chemicals, viruses, hormones, radiation etc, through artificial production of tumors in experimental animals.

Epidemiologic and experimental studies are strongly intertwined with each other.

Nowadays has been definitely proven that cancers are not caused by a single factor. There exist approximately 200 forms of cancerous diseases and the cancer research continues at full pace. 

Even though a lot of 'the culpables' for cancer have been discovered there are still a considerable amount of cancers with still unknown or doubted origin. Below I will give you a list of accepted and proved agents, responsible in the development of cancer.

1. Chemicals

According to some authors 80-90% of all malign tumors in humans are caused by a reaction of different chemical substances. 

1.1. Polycyclic hydrocarbures 

They are produced as a result of burning in high degrees of any organic substance, such as oil, cobbles, including tobacco and meat products. 

1.2. Azoic Dyes 

They are a group of chemical substances known by this name because of the nitrogen found in their molecules and strong colorant  characteristics, even in the most diluted form.

1.3. Aromatic amines

In particular, cancer risk in humans resulting from exposure to aromatic amines from occupational sources and tobacco smoking is assessed with reference to ecologic, cohort, and case-control studies.

1.4. Alkyls

Among the most important representans of this group we can mention nitrosamines and carbamate. 

1.5. Inorganic chemical substances

The most important ones to be avoided are arsenic, asbestos, chrome, nickel and beryllium.

2. Special chemical substances

Aflatoxins. 

3. Tobacco smoke

Heart and lungs suffer the most. 

3.1. Nicotine

3.2. Carbon Monoxide

3.3. Irritant substances

3.4. Radioactive substances

4. Alcohol 

5. Food Products and the way of eating  

6. Physical Agents

6.1. Radiation

6.2. Mechanical traumas

6.3.Repetitive burns

7. Infective Agents

7.1. Viruses

7.2. Parasites

8. Hormones

9. Hereditiy

10. Psychic factors

The 'Alarm' cancer symptoms

1. Change in color, form or size of a mole. 

Usually the above changes are noted after a long period of repeated micro-traumas, or after a prolonged and careless exposure to the sun.

2. Cough and voice hoarseness that continues for more than 2-3 weeks.

Those who have smoked for a long period of time must be extremely cautious.

3. Stable disorders of swallowing and digestion. 

Especially digestion disorders that continue for a long time, resulting in weight loss. Difficulties and disorders in the normal rhythm of defecation.

4. A wound that does not heal.

Especially wounds localized on the skin, lips or tongue.

5. Hemorrhage (bleeding) of different organs, especially intestines, urinary tract and female genital organs. 

Blood traces in urine or feces. Dark colored feces, especially after the age of 40. Bleeding from the female genital organs in the period in between their menstrual cycle or after sexual intercourse.

Genital bleeding in the menopause period.

Blood during cough or phlegm.

Blood discharge from the breasts etc.

6. The appearance of palpable nodules (in the form of a bump), or the hardening of tissues, especially those localized in the breast.

Generally hard and non hurting nodules, especially when localized in the breasts and accompanied with other disorders such as blood discharge from the breasts and change in size or form of the breasts.  

These are the 6 'Alarm' signs, known to warn the beginning of cancer. In most of the cases these signs have other causes, unrelated to cancer, but if they continue for a period longer than 2 weeks, you should consult your doctor. Do not forget that a cancer discovered in time and treated as it should, has a big possibility to be totally cured.

Cancer, the Death Roulette

Death roulette

Cancer is a very complex and heterogeneous disease. Everybody knows that early detection can save lives. However there are some types of cancers, where early detection is very difficult. Only thanks to lucky circumstances, can these type of cancers be discovered. Lets take advantage from the valuable lessons of Lau Tsu, Aristotle, Leonardo and Darvin, who teach us that the truth is discovered more often by observing with caution the small things, rather than watching in shock the big looking ones. 

Technological development has made it possible for the doctors to discover, with the aid of sophisticated machines, the cancer development, in phases where its size is microscopic. But, even though the achievements in the field of cancer therapy may be important, or the means and possibilities that science has provided to the doctors for this purpose may be effective and successful, the main objective and the most important one in the global strategy in the war against cancer, is without any doubt its prevention. Our salvation and our loss are often inside ourselves. 

In the scientific community it is generally believed that cancer may be eradicated in the same way that most of the early infectious diseases have been. Cancer has not been as threatening as today in the past. Every era has had its own 'curse'. 

In the Middle Ages the 'Black Death' caused millions of deaths and left the people terrorized and without protection. Latter it was discovered that the cause of this disease was a kind of microbe that was transmitted through mices, that infected people by entering into their houses. After the cause was found then this disease was eradicated.

Same with tuberculosis in the 19th century. It was the most difficult disease of that time. In many countries tuberculosis is not a life threatening disease now, because of the preventive measures, such as vaccines and better life conditions. 

There are two well studied and undeniable factors, that the general optimism in preventing cancer is based on. 

1. Nowadays a big number of factors and agents that cause or favor the development of cancers in humans are known and can be avoided. Read my post '10 causes of cancer' for further information.

2. Cancer development is a gradual and long process. The diagnose in the early para-clinic phases or when the first symptoms are shown, makes it possible for a full recovery in a considerable number of cases. Read my other post 'How does cancer develop' for  more knowledge on this topic. I always try to give information in a simple and understandable way, so it doesn't matter if you are not from the field. I am not writing this blog for people from the scientific community or similar. It is for everyone that searches and wants to know more information to help them protect themselves. Knowledge is power. But let's continue with our topic...

Based on these two important factors, two main directions have been defined for the prevention of cancer.

1. Combating the causes of this disease and the factors that aid its development, such as cancerous agents and precancerous states.

2. Early detection and diagnosis of the disease, when it is still in the first phases.

Again this post is just an overview of the topics that we will be covering in the posts to come, so stay tuned.

Cancer is a 'death roulette' because the cancerous agents may induce this disease if the genetic pathways of the person make it possible. There are people, who smoke and yet live long lives. There are others that are easily affected from smoking causing lung cancer or similar. The tobacco smoke can cause in the structure of the DNA the fatal combination, every time one smokes a cigarette. So, its like playing in a roulette. 

It is also the same as in a war. The probability to be hit from the adverser's guns is as big as the number of ordnance. The fact that a lot of soldiers do not get hurt, doesn't mean that the war is less dangerous for the life of those who fight. 

I truly want cancer to be gone forever. Generally it affects and takes the lives of the best people. 

Stay well.

Holistic medicine, is it effective or just a myth?

While holistic medicine ideas may sound sensible today, they were almost blasphemous in the past. Holistic medicine is defined in different ways. In general, it focuses on the whole person rather than just on the illness or part of the body that is not healthy. 

Some of the radical principles of holistic medicine are:

- Diet has considerable effect on almost all diseases

- The human body can heal itself given the appropriate nutrients

- Any effective treatment for degenerative diseases must treat the whole person

- People with serious illnesses must help their body detoxify

Sounds fine, doesn't it? Of course, the question mark, if this is enough always remains... Health professionals realize that a person’s health depends on the balance of physical, psychological, social, and cultural forces. However, available scientific evidence does not support claims that holistic medicine without mainstream medical care can cure illness.

Unfortunately, there are quite some diseases that the mainstream medicine can not cure yet. I also 'hate' the concept of palliative care, that is to relieve symptoms without having a curative effect on the underlying disease or cause. But, sometimes it is what it is... You have to do anything that may help to improve your quality of life. 

A combination of emotional, nutritional, poisons, infections, accidents and inheritance, is mainly the underlying cause of any disease. In a well functioning body all is arranged according to the fundamental rules of nature. 

Here comes the first factor... Nature! It is not only our internal metabolism that counts, but our 'external one' as well. By external metabolism I mean the 'earth metabolism', such as plants, fruits, the composition of the soil in which they grow, transportation, storage and preparation of these foods. Is the agriculture today sufficiently organic, or is it making the quality of soil to deteriorate? 

The everyday life stress, living disconnected with nature, having a monotony of not healthy habits, is going to mark your health and show on the outside as well. We always say that health is the most important thing in life and yet we tend to do so little to care for it. 

You can find plenty of information on different food regimes on the net and it is overwhelming sometimes. Some of them say do not eat dairy products,  others do not eat meat, do not eat carbs etc etc. I say eat everything within balance. Balance is important in life. Keep in mind different food allergies that you may have and be kind to yourself. Try to eat as organic as possible. Be comfortable in your skin and avoid stress, juice as often as you can, exercise, stay in touch with nature... Easier said than done, right? I promise you will see a difference in your energy levels, in your mood and overall health. It all begins and ends inside your head, so try and keep your thoughts positive, too. 

If you are interested in a more detailed detox dietary regime, to heal your liver and cleanse your body, then you should read my other article entitled 'Detox Dietary Regime'. 

Stay well! :)

Does weed really cure cancer?

Weed, or otherwise known as marijuana, has a very controversial history. Its scientific name is Cannabis Sativa.  It currently has a limited medical use. Medical researchers have isolated substances from the plant, known as cannabinoids that can be used to achieve more predictable effects. 

It is important to note that medicinal marijuana is not yet a form of treatment and is not curative. It is used to treat cancer symptoms like pain and to relieve select side effects of treatment, that are associated with different kinds of cancers, such as breast cancer, stomach cancer, head and neck cancers, lung cancer etc.  Unfortunately this list is too long to be continued...

Certain cannabinoid drugs have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to relieve nausea and vomiting, increase appetite in people with cancer and AIDS. Other marijuana extracts are still being tested. 

It is claimed that kush weed (kush refers to a subset of strains of Cannabis Indica) has antibacterial properties, inhibits the tumor growth, eases the severity of asthma attacks and so on. 

As of 2012, there are reports online suggesting that marijuana oil or “hemp” oil can cure cancer, as well as many other diseases, such as diabetes, ulcers, arthritis, migraines, insomnia and infections. According to these reports smoking weed does not have the same effects as consuming the 'hemp' oil orally. 

On the other hand there are a lot of challenges in the marijuana research, because the plant itself contains many compounds that react differently in the organism. Another factor is that effects vary, depending on how marijuana is consumed. Also the method of extraction of these compounds is important. 

But, if this plant seems to have so many good properties, why is it illegal? This question would arise naturally to anyone that doesn't have knowledge on its past. Marijuana use, according to the White House on marijuana legalization, is associated not only with dependence, but also with many other negative aspects. 

The supporters of the 'hemp oil cure', known as the Phoenix Tears, claim that if the weed is eaten and not smoked, it does not have any addictive properties, but this is in the process of being tested by the scientific community and there are no legal protocols on the matter yet. 

References

1. American Association for Cancer Research. “Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows.” ScienceDaily, 17 Apr. 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.

2. "Kirk and Law Enforcement: Super-Marijuana 'Kush' Hits Suburbs". June 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.

3. Guy, Geoffrey William; Brian Anthony Whittle, Philip Robson (2004). The Medicinal Uses of Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Pharmaceutical Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-85369-517-2.

4. Jackson, Trevor (November 10, 2001). "Cannabis the wonder drug?". British Medical Journal (British Medical Association) 323 (7321): 1136. doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7321.1136. PMC 1121619. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

Health Advice

Healthy living

Everybody needs to be his own doctor sometimes. I do not mean to skip the medical check ups and doctor visits, but you should know the basics. You should know how to prevent the illness. 

It is well known that it is always best to prevent than to cure. Some diseases are hidden ones, and they hit you when you least expect it. Sometimes you do not even believe it is happening and you do not understand WHY... These kind of diseases can only be prevented by regular check-ups. There are a lot of new diagnostic methods that have been proven to be successful. We will be discussing about them in here, too. 

Medical diagnostics

Even better, a lot of work is being done by the scientific community on the theranostic nanomedicine, which is a combination of diagnostics and therapy. I can not wait to talk to you about it.  

I strongly believe that the underlaying cause of almost all diseases is stress. 

Stress

When the inner balance is ruined, most likely the body will respond negatively. If you have family history with 'bad' diseases, please be aware to do the regular check ups more often. I am telling you this, but I should do that myself first, too. I always seem to postpone them. Just don't!!!

Apart from the difficult diseases, you should know how to improve yourself. By improving yourself I mean better nutrition, sports and activities that make you happy. 

Healthy eating habits

If you have kids, you should know some extra tips  for them too. 

Children health

I am very passionate on the health topics and I will do my best to cover the most important areas in here. I am a licensed pharmacist with a scientific master in nuclear pharmacy. I am also pursuing my doctoral degree in a related field. The information that is going to be included in the health section of this blog is going to be supported by the relevant current researches done on the field and at the very end of the post I am going to include the references. 

It is going to be much fun doing this. I am sure it will be very interesting for you, too. Health means beauty... 

Stay tuned ;)