Cancer Treatment – why cancer sometimes disappears by itself? – How to cure cancer?
It's hard to believe, but some cancers disappear in an amazing way. More 1000 case studies have documented cases of spontaneous regression of tumors. Why this is happening and whether physicians use "self healing", to help other patients?
The earliest recorded case of spontaneous regression of cancer occurred in the late 13 century: at Peregrine Laziosi after severe bacterial infection spontaneously disappeared sarcoma of bone. At the end of 1800-1930s William Coley noticed, that fever can cause tumor regression. He developed bacterial vaccine (Coley vaccine), that showed success in reducing tumors in many patients.
Tumors, as it is known, spontaneously disappear in the absence of any targeted treatment. Usually, This happened after a virus, bacterial, fungal or even a protozoal infection. Could this mean, that simple stimulation of immunity is sufficient, to cause regression of the disease?
Cancer sometimes disappears by itself – Not so simple
In the past 70 years reported on the spontaneous regression of various types of cancer: Melanoma (Skin Cancer), renal-cell cancer, neuroblastoma and certain leukemias. Nonetheless, scientists still do not know the mechanisms of, that cause this phenomenon. Such cases are difficult to calculate, and many of them, probably, were not described in scientific journals.
One possible reason is that spontaneous regression, the body causes an immune response against specific antigens, placed on the surface of tumor cells. This idea is supported by observations, that some Neoplasms of skin (zlokachestvennaya melanoma) contain an excessive number of immune cells within tumors.
Another interesting case is the spontaneous regression of kidney cancer, that occurred after the, as part of the tumors removed surgically. Probably, the local immune response after surgery was enough, to stop the growth of the remainder of the tumor.
As it is known, tumors of coleopterology. This also applies to their genetics, and their behavior, that can lead to progression of disease some patients and cause the spontaneous regression of other. Tumors of the same type (eg, mammary cancer) can mutate in a variety of ways. This can affect the speed of tumour growth, the likelihood of metastasis or her reaction to treatment. It is very likely, that genetic mutations are also responsible for spontaneous recovery.
Children's cancer gives clues
Neuroblastoma in children sheds light on, as genetic changes can affect the spontaneous regression of cancer. With this diagnosis in the UK annually faces around 100 children, but the disease progresses very differently depending on the age of the child. Tumors in children under 18 months can disappear without any treatment (type 1), and then 18 months patients need intensive care, and survive only in 40-50% cases (type 2).
Studies show, that neuroblastoma 1 type of genetically differ from tumors 2 type. They, usually, have a greater number of cell receptor TrkA, that can trigger cancer cells to self-destruct. Neuroblastoma 2 type have a higher number of different receptor (TrkB), that makes them extremely aggressive.
Another possible explanation for this phenomenon is that, that neuroblastoma 1 type show very low levels of telomerase activity. This enzyme controls the length of the specialized parts of DNA, that allow cage share continuously. In neuroblastoma 1 the type they are very short and unstable, that leads to a quick death of cancer cells.
We cannot exclude and epigenetic changes. They do not affect the sequence of cellular DNA, but that modify the activity of various proteins, «marking» other parts of DNA. Thus, cells with the same sequence of DNA (but different labels) can behave quite differently and lead to the self-destruction of certain tumors.
The exact mechanisms of, underlying spontaneous regression of cancer, still not defined. However, very likely, that stimulation of strong immune response should play a greater role in people with certain genetic profiles. Further research will explore this relationship and prompt, how you can identify tumors, who have the ability to spontaneous regression.
