Insulin potentiation thereapy: makes sense considering metformin benefits

[Rich66]

A treatment that capitalizes on the PET/Glucose mechanism:

(http://www.antiagingmedicine.com/procedures_insulin.htm)http://www.antiagingmedicine.com/procedures_insulin.htm

Controlling Cancer Growth
At the Nevada Center we use a form of chemotherapy called Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT). IPT is a simple, safe medical treatment that exploits the fact that cancer cells, unlike healthy cells, are not able to metabolize fat for energy. They rely completely on glucose (sugar/carbohydrates) for their energy supply. This is a weakness of cancer cells, and we use this weakness to control them. We use the hormone insulin to do this.
When insulin is injected it has the effect of causing the patient’s blood sugar to drop. As the blood sugar drops, the patient’s healthy cells simply shift over to fat metabolism, but the patient’s cancer cells become seriously compromised. Since they rely entirely on sugar metabolism, they go into an emergency mode and open all of their membranes in an effort to get sugar. In this state they are very vulnerable to chemotherapy drugs.
Once the blood sugar has reached a low enough level for the treatment to be effective, we then inject the chemotherapy drugs. This is immediately followed by an intravenous infusion of large amounts of sugar. What happens next is that the cancer cells, weakened and starved for sugar, take up the chemotherapy drugs in large amounts as they take up the sugar they so desperately need.
The effect of this technique is two-fold. First, the cancer cells will take up much larger amounts of chemotherapy medications than they ordinarily would without the insulin application. Secondly, since they are in such a weakened and vulnerable state from the lack of sugar, they are much more sensitive to the toxic effects of the drugs. The result is a level of cancer cell death and growth control comparable to standard chemotherapy. But there is one very big difference.
IPT Is Gentle
Because the IPT technique results in a higher concentration of the chemo-therapeutic drugs in the cancer cells, we are able to use much lower chemo-therapy doses than are normally used to get the same intracellular levels. In general, we usually use about one tenth of the standard dose. A recent soon to be published review of patients treated with IPT shows that the cancer growth controlling effect of IPT isequal to that of standard chemotherapy.
The fact that we can use a lower dose of medication and yet have the same results leads to two very important advantages to IPT. First, the lower dose means that there are little to no side effects. Our patients typically feel as good as ever – even immediately after the treatments. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, because the doses are so low, IPT treatments can be used as long as they areneeded without the concern of long-term toxicity to healthy cells and tissues.

[Jackie07]

What an interesting [yet 'dangerous' (anybody remembers what Dr. John Nash, a Nobel Laureate, had suffered from 'insulin shock therapy' as was described in the movie 'A Beautiful Mind'?) - see below]concept!

But I was disappointed after I had visited their website. There's only one technician with the expertise of 'Breast cancer prevention'.

Here's what I have found at the ACS (American Cancer Society) site about this particular non-traditional practice (among many others):

Insulin Potentiation Therapyhttp://www.cancer.org/common/images/shim.gifOther common name(s): IPT, low-dose chemotherapy
Scientific/medical name(s): none

Description
Insulin potentiation therapy (IPT) refers to the use of insulin along with lower doses of chemotherapy to treat cancer. It is also sometimes used with other treatments for chronic diseases.

Overview
Despite individual reports, there are no published scientific studies available showing that IPT is safe or effective in treating cancer in humans. IPT may have serious side effects.

How is it promoted for use?
Insulin potentiation therapy is promoted as a "kinder, gentler" approach to chemotherapy, with "little to none of the negative side effects of chemotherapy." It purports to use about a tenth of the usual dose of cancer treatment medicine. The effect of the chemotherapy is claimed to be magnified or potentiated by the use of insulin, which lowers the blood sugar. People who offer this treatment claim that insulin "opens up" the receptors on cancer cells so that more chemotherapy can get in.

IPT has also reportedly been used to treat fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, and some infections. Some practitioners use IPT along with other complementary or alternative treatments such as cell therapy (see Cell Therapy (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Cell_Therapy.asp?sitearea=ETO)).

What does it involve?
The patient reports to an IPT clinic after having had nothing to eat or drink other than water for 6 to 8 hours. Intravenous (IV) fluids are started, and the patient is given a dose of insulin based on his or her body weight. For people with cancer, low doses of chemotherapy drugs are given a few minutes later so that they reach the bloodstream after the insulin has started to lower the patient's blood sugar. This is called the "therapeutic moment" by some IPT providers.

At this point, the patient usually has some symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). These can be quite severe, especially the first time, because people can respond to a standard dose of insulin quite differently. The IV is switched to a high-sugar solution to raise the blood sugar. After the symptoms of low blood sugar begin to improve, the patient may be given food to raise the blood sugar further. During this process, the blood sugar may be checked by fingerstick.

At the next treatment, the insulin dose may be raised or lowered, depending on the patient's response to the first dose. Between treatments, the patient may be given chemotherapy drugs taken by mouth, and may also get vitamins or other supplements. Treatment is usually given twice a week, generally for 12 to 18 sessions. After the first round of treatment, some people are advised that they need additional "maintenance" sessions.

Some supporters of insulin potentiation therapy recommend using it along with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a solvent sometimes used to treat a particular bladder problem (see DMSO (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_DMSO.asp?sitearea=ETO)). Other medicines or supplements may be paired with IPT for patients with illnesses other than cancer.
One source was quoted at $15,500 to $17,500 for three to four weeks of “intensive IPT.”

What is the history behind it?
Insulin was first isolated from pancreatic tissue in the early 1920s and has been used as a conventional treatment for diabetes since that time. In the early 1930s, insulin was used to produce coma for short periods in patients with schizophrenia in an attempt to cure them or reduce symptoms. About 1% of these patients died, however, and survivors often had lifelong complications. This type of treatment for schizophrenia was abandoned in the late 1950s.

IPT was developed in Mexico by Dr. Donato Perez Garcia, Sr., around the same time that insulin had begun to be used in schizophrenics. In fact, some supporters of IPT note that, at this early stage, patients with cancer were also put into insulin comas. Dr. Perez Garcia used this technique to try to treat several types of cancer. His son, Donato Perez Garcia Bellon, and grandson, Donato Perez Garcia, Jr., have followed in his footsteps. A physician from the United States, Dr. Steven G. Ayre, is a supporter of IPT and has published some descriptions of the theory behind it. More recently, books have been published suggesting that IPT can cure cancer, and some alternative clinics have begun to recommend it.

What is the evidence?
One very small published study on IPT was done in Uruguay. It included 30 women with breast cancer that was resistant to mainstream therapies. Of these women, 10 received insulin, 10 took the chemotherapy drug methotrexate, and 10 received IPT using both drugs. After 8 weeks, researchers reported that the women in the IPT group had smaller increases in tumor size than either of the other groups. Even though they used lower doses of methotrexate than usual, there were some side effects (mouth sores) noted in the IPT group. This study did not look at survival, quality of life, well-being, or lasting effects. No long-term improvements were shown by this study.
Most of the information about insulin potentiation therapy comes from individual reports. Even among those, however, there is no evidence that the people who reported being helped by IPT were followed for long enough to learn whether the treatment worked.

Despite supporters' claims that insulin potentiation therapy has been well researched, no scientific studies that show safety and effectiveness have been published in available peer-reviewed journals. These claims cannot be verified.
There are also concerns about using lower doses of chemotherapy drugs. When chemotherapy drugs are tested in clinical trials, their effects are carefully monitored to learn which dose will best balance the need to kill cancer cells with the goal of keeping side effects at a tolerable level. There is no evidence that chemotherapy at a fraction of the recommended and tested dose can produce the same effect as the full dose if used with insulin.

Are there any possible problems or complications?
Because people respond differently to similar doses of insulin, blood sugar can drop quickly to dangerous levels during IPT. Low blood sugar can cause weakness, shakiness, confusion, rapid heartbeat, sweating, seizures, brain damage, or even death if it is prolonged.
People who are on pills to lower the blood sugar for treatment of diabetes may react more severely to low blood sugar caused by IPT. In addition, several medicines can affect the body's response to blood sugar changes. For example, beta-blocker medicines such as atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Lopressor) can mask the symptoms of low blood sugar, so the blood sugar may become dangerously low before it is noticed. Sulfa antibiotics (Bactrim and Septra) can make the blood sugar go even lower, as can excessive amounts of alcohol.
The possible effects of insulin potentiation therapy to treat cancer during pregnancy have not been studied. However, chemotherapy drugs are not generally advised during pregnancy. Use of IPT for cancer during pregnancy may harm the fetus.

A few people have severe allergic reactions to certain types of insulin, with reactions including fast heartbeat, low blood pressure, trouble breathing, itching, or rash. Insulin has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lower blood sugar to abnormal levels. Even when used as prescribed, it can be dangerous in some: an estimated 2% to 4% of deaths in people with Type I diabetes are due to low blood sugar.

Relying on this type of treatment alone, and avoiding or delaying standard medical care for cancer, may have serious health consequences.

Additional Resources
More information from your American Cancer Society





The following information on complementary and alternative therapies may also be helpful to you. These materials may be found on our Web site (www.cancer.org (http://www.cancer.org/)) or ordered from our toll-free number (1-800-ACS-2345).

Guidelines for Using Complementary and Alternative Methods (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Guidelines_For_Using_Complementary_and_Al ternative_Methods.asp)


How to Know What Is Safe: Choosing and Using Dietary Supplements (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_How_to_Know_What_Is_Safe_Choosing_and_Usi ng_Dietary_Supplements.asp)


The ACS Operational Statement on Complementary and Alternative Methods of Cancer Management (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_American_Cancer_Society_Operational_State ment_on_CAM.asp)


Complementary and Alternative Methods for Cancer Management (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_1_Introduction.asp)


Placebo Effect (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Placebo_Effect.asp)


Learning About New Ways to Treat Cancer (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_2X_Learning_About_New_Cancer_Treatments.asp)


Learning About New Ways to Prevent Cancer (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/PED_14_Learning_About_New_Cancer_Prevention_Method s.asp?sitearea=PED)
References
Ayre SG, Perez Garcia y Bellon D, Perez Garcia D Jr. Insulin potentiation therapy: a new concept in the management of chronic degenerative disease. Med Hypotheses. 1986;20:199-210.
Baratz R. Why you should stay away from Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT). Accessed at: www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/ipt.html (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/ipt.html) on June 11, 2008.
Cryer PE. Hypoglycemia. In Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, et al (Eds). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 15th ed., 2001. Washington DC: McGraw Hill, 2138-2143.
DrugGuide.Com. Antidiabetics: Pharmacologic Profile. Accessed at: www.drugguide.com/classification_articles/antidiabetics.htm (http://www.drugguide.com/classification_articles/antidiabetics.htm) on June 11, 2008.
Insulin Potentiation Therapy. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Accessed at: http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69265.cfm on August 27, 2008.
Lasalvia-Prisco E, Cucchi S, Vazquez J, Lasalvia-Galante E, Golomar W, Gordon W. Insulin-induced enhancement of antitumoral response to methotrexate in breast cancer patients. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2004;53:220-224.
Note: This information may not cover all possible claims, uses, actions, precautions, side effects or interactions. It is not intended as medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your doctor, who is familiar with your medical situation.
Last Medical Review: 11/01/2008
Last Revised: 11/01/2008

[Rich66]

No doubt it's controversial. but the way it seems to be practiced is not quite the way ACS describes it. Warburg effect and glycolysis has been around and ignored for a long time (http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/96/24/1805). There are numerous indications (Metformin) the concept has some merit. Whether IPT has merit is hard to tell considering the lack of formal trials. But at an admittedly simplistic level, it seems to exploit the same mechanisms that Glucose based PET imaging does. They've known for many years to keep diabetics from taking their Metformin because it interferes with tumor activity. Well...common sense would tell you that's a good thing. Now, many years later, science seems to be saying "Maybe metformin is good." IPT looks like an attempt to harness the same mechanism in a more aggressive fashion. Just saying Metformin was basically sitting under their nose for years. Maybe IPT is the same. and taking it a little further, maybe the supposed myth of "sugar feeds cancer" is at the core. The connections between cancer, metabolism and diabetes continue to be discovered.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5AO4VO20091125
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14713323
Metabolic syndrome (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18265478?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsP anel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed)

Many researchers are piling on to the idea that PET scan uptake a short time after treatment (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19838700?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed _ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=11) can show whether a given chemo is reaching and affecting (slowing down) the tumor cells (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19837760?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed _ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=12). Again, common sense. It would be interesting to see how IPT treated tumor cells look a few days after treatment. Although not primed with extensive sugar deprivation via insulin, it would be very interesting to look at cancer patients' records who had chemo immediately after glucose injection/PET scan.

Started an IPT thread in Articles of interest:
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42119

[Donoccow4]

I once bought a book about this therapy. it was in 2004. Certainly very interesting. They called it Donetian therapy probably after the man whose name is Donato. I imagine anyone who is interested could research the internet for this book. It is contraversial and who can tell if it is effective. What I remember about the Donetian therapy is that they drop the blod sugar to about 35-40. This is done in a clinical hospital setting so the dangers of severe hypoglycemia can be countered quickly. The hypoglycemia causes the cancer cells to "open up" their cell membranes for lack of a better word and as much more gets into the cancer cells. much lower doses of chemo can be used. The lower doses translate into less systemic side effects.

Paul

[Rich66]

Interesting (but long) video:
http://www.blip.tv/file/2461465