Diarrhea May Protect Against Colon Cancer In a surprising development, the bacterial toxin that causes diarrhea was found to slow the growth of dividing colon cancer cells, according to researchers at Thomas Jefferson Medical University, Philadelphia. They hope that this same mechanism can be harnessed to fight cancer, without the unpleasant side effects. What went unmentioned in news reports of this finding was the fact that Coley's toxins (made up of toxins from two different bacteria) have been used in cancer treatment for over 100 years with considerable success. They have even been researched by Jefferson oncologist Rita S. Axelrod, MD (who discussed her work at last November's CAM seminar at Jefferson). Jefferson's Dr. GianMario Pitari and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, studied the toxins from E. coli, which is the main cause of diarrhea among travelers. They found that E. coli produces a toxin that mimics a natural colon process and provokes diarrhea. However, the toxin also causes a flood of calcium into affected cells, stopping colon cancer cells from replicating rapidly. "The mechanism by which this occurs is very specific and completely new," said Dr. Pitari. The finding is "very exciting indeed, because it offers a new insight into the pathogenesis of this disease," said gastroenterologist Emad El-Omar at University of Aberdeen. "It takes into account a very obvious constituent in the bowel that has been ignored by mainstream research, namely the colonic bacteria," he told the British magazine New Scientist. The researchers added toxins from E. coli to human colon cancer cells in the lab. Scott Waldman, one of the researchers, said that the toxin binds to receptors on the cells' surface and triggers two events in the gut. First, it causes diarrhea. Second, through a different pathway, it allows calcium to flow into the cell and slow its growth. Dr. Pitari suggested that dietary calcium could block tumor growth: "We propose blocking the pathway leading to diarrhea, leaving only the positive effect. This might provide a great opportunity to treat cancer locally. It might also work synergistically with other anticancer drugs." The latest findings could help explain a discovery made a dozen years ago at Heidelberg University. There, scientists (headed by biostatistician Ulrich Abel, PhD) found that people who had common colds and stomach flus were far less likely to get cancer than their "healthier" counterparts. A total of 255 patients with cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, breast and ovary were compared to 230 hospital control patients, who were matched for age, sex, and region of residence. Those who averaged three or more infections per year over the previous five years were less than one-quarter as likely to have cancer than supposedly "healthy" people who had gone five years without a single infection! Perhaps having colds and flus give one a jolt of natural home-grown "Coley's toxins," which act as a way of enhancing the immune system so that it can better fight cancer. Abel's astonishing study came and went and there is barely a mention of it, even on the Internet. In any case, it's a consoling thing to tell yourself, or your friends, as you suffer through a bout of a winter cold or flu. The bottom line from all these studies is that immune resistance is extremely important in fighting cancer. One should keep the immune system in good shape and not agree to treatments that could weaken it, unless there are compelling reasons to do so. In general, strongly favor those treatments that build up, rather than tear down, your precious immunity. --Ralph W. Moss, PhD The Moss Reports Newsletter #74 www.cancerdecisions.com Br J Cancer, 3/04 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.