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Esophageal Cancer Stage 4
In conclusion, curcumin may act synergistically with the chemotherapeutic regimen FOLFOX in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis via Bcl/Bax-caspase 8,9-caspase 3 pathway.
Dear David- My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer with lymph node involvemnt in the neck, chest, and stomach on 3/5/16. The doctors have estimated 12-15 months with chemo & radiation. He is currently on extended and short release morphine for pain and he is experiencing bloating in the stomach.
He will begin his first round of chemo on 3/11/16 with 2 IV drugs ( Epirubicin & Oxaliplatin) and 1 pill form (Xeloda). This is to try and shrink the lymph nodes and then possible radiaiton to shrink the tumor.
I was wondering at this point what natural vitamins and supplements would be beneficial to him to begin taking along with the chemo & radiation. T
Hi Tracy-
I am sorry to learn of your husband’s EC diagnosis.
I will be direct with you. If you follow only conventional oncology therapies (chemo and radiation as you describe below) you and your husband will adhere to the averages and prognosis offered to you by your oncologist.
I will present studies below about those integrative supplements that enhance the chemo while reducing toxicity of your chemotherapy and radiation. Please understand that these two chemotherapies are extremely toxic. See the examples below
Epirubicin is a class of chemotherapy called anthracycline. Highly toxic. Curcumin, omega 3, other supplements are integrative as well.
No one can offer you a cure. My point is to enhance chemotherapy while reducing side effects.
Let me know if you have questions.
Hang in there,
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
oxyplatin- curcumin
“Despite the efficacy of fluoropyrimidines and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for patients, this treatment leads to significant patient inconvenience, toxicity, and cost.
This study aims to validate a nontoxic agent, curcumin, to the current chemotherapeutic regimen. In in vitro experiments, curcumin induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cell line BGC-823.
Synergistic antitumor effects of curcumin were observed in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin. These effects were accompanied by downregulation of the expression of Bcl-2 protein and mRNA and upregulation of the expression of Bax and caspase 3, 8, and 9.
In addition, the in vivo study showed that the combination of curcumin and 5-FU/oxaliplatin exhibited potent growth inhibition of BGC-823 xenograft tumors.
Furthermore, compared with the control group, no significant difference was observed in the body weight of curcumin-treated nude mice.
In conclusion, curcumin may act synergistically with the chemotherapeutic regimen FOLFOX in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis via Bcl/Bax-caspase 8,9-caspase 3 pathway.
“Peripheral neurotoxicity is one of the serious dose-limiting side effects of oxaliplatin (Oxa) when used in the treatment of malignant conditions. It is documented that it elicits major side effects specifically neurotoxicity due to oxidative stress forcing the patients to limit its clinical use in long-term treatment.
Oxidative stress has been proven to be involved in Oxa-induced toxicity including neurotoxicity. The mitochondria have recently emerged as targets for anticancer drugs in various kinds of toxicity including neurotoxicity that can lead to neoplastic disease.
However, there is paucity of literature involving the role of the mitochondria in mediating Oxa-induced neurotoxicity and its underlying mechanism is still debatable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dose-dependent damage caused by Oxa on isolated brain mitochondria under in vitro conditions.
The study was also designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of nutraceuticals, curcumin (CMN), and quercetin (QR) on Oxa-induced mitochondrial oxidative stress and respiratory chain complexes in the brain of rats.
Oxidative stress biomarkers, levels of nonenzymatic antioxidants, activities of enzymatic antioxidants, and mitochondrial complexes were evaluated against the neurotoxicity induced by Oxa. Pretreatment with CMN and QR significantly replenished the mitochondrial lipid peroxidation levels and protein carbonyl content induced by Oxa.
CMN and QR ameliorated altered nonenzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants and complex enzymes of mitochondria. We conclude that CMN and QR, by attenuating oxidative stress as evident by mitochondrial dysfunction, hold promise as agents that can potentially reduce Oxa-induced adverse effects in the brain…”