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Multiple myeloma (MM) genetic expression changes with chemotherapy. Can lifestyle therapies change MM genetics as well?
A multiple myeloma diagnosis is serious. However, there is no genetic pre-disposition to my cancer, multiple myeloma. Could epigenetics influence my long-term MM survival?
Ever since I can remember, it has always been a given that everyone is born with good genes and bad genes and that this fact was just fate. Scoliosis (spinal curvature) runs in my family. One of my sisters, my brother, my father, two nieces and me- we all have some degree of spinal curvature. Scoliosis “runs” in my family.
I have always wondered how a person can have a genetic pre-disposition to a health condition yet they may or may not exhibit symptoms of that health condition.
I recently came across the article below-
“Researchers have identified a new cancer gene – one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes. The new example – a gene on the X chromosome called UTX – is found in 10% of cases of multiple myeloma and 8% of esophageal cancers.”
After reading this article I decided that it made perfect sense that certain genes are common to certain cancers. Then I find a study conducted by a Dr. Dean Ornish indicating that a small group of men diagnosed with prostate cancer changed their gene expression through lifestyle.
“After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes — including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.”
Certainly more research needs to be done regarding our ability to affect our gene expression but as a long-term multiple myeloma survivor I can’t help but wonder if my lifestyle focused on nutrition, exercise, supplementation, detoxification and mind-body therapy is the reason for my long-term myeloma survival.
I am both a multiple myeloma survivor and MM cancer coach. To learn more about the supplementation, exercise, nutrition, etc. that may alter YOUR gene expression scroll down the page to post a question or comment. I will reply to you ASAP.
“The most rigorous genetic sequencing ever carried out on a single tumor reveals far greater genetic diversity among cancer cells than anticipated, more than 100 million distinct mutations within the coding regions of its genes. The finding suggests that even microscopic tumors are likely to contain extremely high genetic diversity. With so much variation, even small tumors are likely to contain cells that may be able to resist standard post-surgical cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation….”
“Among 35 men with biopsy-proven, low-risk prostate cancer who opted for active surveillance, a comprehensive lifestyle intervention including diet, activity, stress management, and support was associated with lengthening of telomeres over 5 years compared with a loss of telomere length among controls, report Dean Ornish MD…
Telomeres, complexes of DNA and proteins at the end of linear chromosomes, have been shown to be essential for cellular health. Telomere shortening has been associated with increased risk for prostate cancer recurrence in patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy, and it’s theorized that telomere maintenance and lengthening may be associated with better health and longer life…
The active intervention group included 10 men who were participants in the GEMINAL (Gene Expression Modulation by Intervention with Nutrition and Lifestyle) study. The participants ate a diet low in fat and refined carbohydrates and high in whole fruits and vegetables; exercised aerobically for at least 30 minutes 6 days each week; engaged in stress management programs; and took part in a 1-hour weekly support group. Controls were followed with active surveillance only…
“In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.
The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.
As expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes.
After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes — including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.
The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research was led by Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a well-known author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health.
“It’s an exciting finding because so often people say, ‘Oh, it’s all in my genes, what can I do?’ Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot,” Ornish, who is also affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, said in a telephone interview.
“‘In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live?’ That’s pretty exciting,” Ornish said. “The implications of our study are not limited to men with prostate cancer.”
