Abstract
Despite the extensive use of chemo/radiation therapy in cancer treatment, the number of cancer deaths continues to increase, and acute and late adverse effects continue to occur. Therefore, a new approach to improving current therapy is needed. In 2014, a new technology called FLASH radiation therapy was developed. It delivers a radiation dose to a tumor at a dose rate of 40 Gy/sec, compared with a dose rate of 0.01 Gy/sec for conventional radiation therapy (CONV- RT). This therapy protected normal tissue against acute radiation injury, but the tumor response rate was similar to that of CONV-RT (1). Therefore, another novel approach is needed to improve the survival rate of patients with cancer, irrespective of cancer type, stage, and treatment sensitivity, and to reduce the acute and late adverse effects of treatment toxicity. Although several studies showed that high doses of individual antioxidants kill cancer cells without significantly affecting the survival of normal cells, these findings did not draw attention from oncologists. While searching for mechanisms, we found that all cancer cells require glucose and glutamine for survival and growth, and that high doses of some antioxidants block glucose uptake, whereas other antioxidants block glutamine uptake. This led us to develop a formulation containing high doses of multiple antioxidants, for which a US patent was granted. In the absence of the patented antioxidant formulation, an interim cancer treatment protocol was developed. It consists of three times the normal dose of a commercially available multivitamin, administered after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, beginning 7 days before chemo/radiation therapy and continuing during therapy and for 30 days or longer afterward. The doses of antioxidants are then gradually decreased to normal levels. Because intestinal dysbiosis reduces the effectiveness of chemo/radiation therapy, the proposed interim protocol recommends consuming probiotics with prebiotics twice daily. The results for two patients who used this protocol are reported here.