Postcard from Buenos Aires
I have an important message for all men, and for any woman who has a man in her life (husband, father, brother, friend) she cares about: The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is a useful tool for predicting the potential for prostate cancer, but a positive result should NOT be considered an automatic green light to go ahead with a biopsy.
In last week’s e-Alert “Getting Specific” (3/2/04), I told you how PSA levels can fluctuate, making a positive result of a single test an unreliable basis on which to proceed with a biopsy. And any man who’s had a prostate biopsy knows why this is significant: It’s a painful procedure that can result in bleeding and infection.
Because prostate cancer is a slow-growing cancer, the most prudent reaction to a positive PSA test is to take at least one additional test. So if you’ve just received a positive result on a PSA test, and you’ve told your doctor that you’ll be back in a couple of weeks for a follow-up test what now? Needless to say, you’re concerned. On the chance that you may have prostate cancer, is there anything proactive you can do?
Fortunately, there is.
Calcium cutter
A 2002 study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle demonstrated how men in the early stages of prostate cancer who reduce their calcium intake may significantly lower the chances of the cancer progressing to an advanced stage.
This is an important point because a man who takes a vitamin supplement that contains calcium may already be getting plenty of calcium from dietary sources such as dairy products, dark leafy green vegetables, and fortified cereal and bread products. The study wasn’t able to recommend an ideal calcium intake level, but strongly encouraged calcium moderation for those with prostate cancer.
The study also revealed: *An association between a high calorie diet and significantly increased risk of advanced prostate cancer *An association between saturated and monounsaturated fat intake and increased risk of advanced prostate cancer * NO association between polyunsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acid intake and increased risk of prostate cancer
Also, a Stanford University study concluded that men with low blood levels of selenium are four to five times more likely to develop prostate cancer than men with normal levels of the mineral. Brazil nuts have a high selenium content, with tuna, flounder, sole, oysters and turkey providing good levels as well.
Personalized vaccines
For those men who proceed with a biopsy and are diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are three treatment options offered by mainstream medicine: surgery to remove the prostate, radiation therapy, and monitoring the disease with “watchful waiting.” But there is an alternative.
I recently received an e-mail from an HSI member who shared some interesting information about an experimental prostate cancer therapy. He writes:
“I’m in Buenos Aires, in treatment with a brilliant, U.S. trained research scientist and physician, Gustavo Moviglia. His treatment is a modification of Dendritic Cell Therapy, which is now being FDA tested in the U.S. on early stage prostate cancer patients.
“Moviglia’s protocol is quite different in that it’s autologous, meaning that dendritic cells are extracted and used to create a vaccine from the patient’s own blood, rather than using a foreign source. Moreover, since Moviglia isn’t bound by FDA guidelines, he can administer other treatments adjunctively, and he does. For instance, they extract CD8 lymphocyte cells from the patient’s own blood. This is the most powerful of the so-called killer cells that haven’t tried to kill the tumor because the body for some reason failed to recognize the tumor as a foreign invader.
“What Moviglia does is to inject the lymphocyte INSIDE the tumor, killing it from the inside out. This creates a hell of a war within the body, massive inflammation and pain, but boy, does it kill the tumors. Every patient in this program is individually treated and varies from patient to patient.
“I tell you, Jenny, I’ve seen the evidence with my own eyes, of patients who came here within the past two years now coming back for booster shots and essentially cancer free. I don’t really expect to ever get to that point because of how advanced my disease is, but what might happen is that I can use this treatment ongoing to stabilize the disease and let me live out my allotted time that way.
“Write down the name, ‘Moviglia.’ I think it will be well known to your grandchildren.”
Tracking the future
After receiving this remarkable e-mail I did some additional reading about Dr. Moviglia’s work. One doctor, whose wife had been successfully treated for breast cancer that had metastasized to her spine and liver, said that the vaccination’s success rate for treating breast cancer is about 50 percent, and about 30 percent for other cancers. Those rates are markedly higher than standard radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
You can find more information about Dr. Moviglia’s Autologous Dendritic Cell Vaccination on the web site for the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (asco.org). And as this member suggested, I’ve made a special note to follow Dr. Moviglia’s work. When his research makes further advances in the treatment of prostate and other cancers, I’ll report them to you here.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
Sources:
“Dietary Change May Prevent the Most Serious Form of Prostate Cancer” Press Release, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 8/6/02, fhcrc.org
“Cancer Vaccine Helps Locals” Medford Mail Tribune 1/18/04, mailtribune.com
