Could this ‘metal trick’ become the MORTAL ENEMY of cancer cells?
When it comes to cooking up a “cure” for cancer, it can seem like Big Pharma is asking for the impossible.
They want something MORE potent… but LESS toxic!
Sure, that would be a DREAM…
But we may have to settle for something LESS potent… and NOT TOXIC at all!
That’s where naturally-derived cancer fighters step in.
Because they don’t CLOBBER your cancer with a sledgehammer – leaving you IN PIECES.
They find vulnerabilities in these seemingly “immortal cells” that help them take cancer DOWN… without bringing YOU down with it.
There’s one kind of compound that comes from nature that works in a totally different way than other anti-cancer agents you may have heard of before.
It may actually ZERO IN on at least one of the root causes of cancer development!
SHUTTING DOWN cancer from all 4 corners
Hydroxamic acid first emerged as a pharmaceutical treatment to STABILIZE mood and BEAT BACK epilepsy (specifically in the form of valproic acid).
Scientists have classified this compound as a type of histone deacetylase inhibitor – that is, it INHIBITS histone deacetylases (HDAC), a class of enzymes needed for cell division.
And according to research, some types of cancer cells… lung cancer cells, for instance… show much higher levels of HDAC than “normal” lung cells.
Now, one lone cancer cell floating around your body isn’t dangerous. It only becomes a THREAT when it starts to replicate uncontrollably. And hydroxamic acid may be able to stop that from happening.
You see, HDAC enzyme activity DEPENDS on the presence of a metal — zinc.
Hydroxamic acid works by DEPRIVING those enzymes of what they need…
By BINDING to the zinc ions… and SWEEPING them away!
That helps DISABLE cancer cells from proliferating by TRIGGERING the proteins necessary to the genetic expression that leads to cell differentiation.
And remember – it’s the UNDIFFERENTIATED cells you need to worry about taking over your body.
This process of attaching to a metal … like zinc… and helping to remove it from your body is called chelation.
You may have heard of chelation… or even tried it yourself… as a way to reduce your toxic load. It’s especially effective in cases of lead or mercury poisoning.
This metal-removing mechanism has been shown in studies to help hydroxamic acid beat back cancer in 4 key ways…
- SABOTAGE the cancer cell growth cycle
- ENCOURAGE “cell suicide” (or apoptosis, the natural “programmed” death that cancer cells are immune to)
- SEND cancer cells packing via autophagy, and
- KILL cancer cells directly by BLASTING them with reactive oxygen species (ROS).
It’s no wonder that Big Pharma jumped on the bandwagon and figured out how to turn hydroxamic acid into a cancer drug!
The result is the chemo drug vorinostat (suberanilohydroxamic acid, a.k.a. SAHA, which is a derivative of hydroxamic acid). It’s approved by the FDA for a recurrent or hard-to-treat form of a rare type of blood cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma .
Unfortunately, some of its potential adverse reactions include blood clotting problems (including pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis)… decreased bone marrow activity… elevated blood sugar… and, of course, the nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that often accompanies cancer drugs.
That’s probably why the feds don’t want docs to use it as a first line of defense.
But what I’d like to know is how we can HARNESS the cancer-inhibiting qualities of hydroxamic acid… without the danger?
After all, derivatives of hydroxamic acid with a similar chelating action are found in nature…
Like the chelating molecules secreted by some microorganisms, called siderophores. One siderophore, called enterobactin, has shown strong iron-chelating AND powerful anti-cancer actions in vitro.
Or the benzoxazinoids found in cereal grains that have shown potential in fighting prostate cancer…
Or cinnamic acids, whose iron-chelating actions are credited for their anti-cancer abilities.
There’s lots more to unpack here… and I could dig into this all day…
But for now, I’ll leave it at this…
If your integrative oncologist recommends chelation therapy for your cancer, it’s worth looking into WHAT he’s trying to chelate… and HOW.
To power without the risk,
Melissa Young
