"Someday
perhaps it will turn out to be one of the ironies of nature that cancer,
responsible for so many deaths, should be so indissolubly connected with
life."
Dr. C. Oberling, 1946
In a 1902 article
written for the British medical journal Lancet, the English scientist
John Beard, at the time Professor at the University of Edinburgh, first
proposed that the pancreatic enzyme trypsin represents the body’s primary
defense against cancer and would be useful as a cancer treatment. Beard came to
his conclusion as the result of some 20 years of hard laboratory research, that
today holds up to rigorous scientific scrutiny. Despite his documentation and
his impeccable reputation—he would be nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1905 for
his work in embryology—the vast majority of cancer experts categorically
rejected Beard’s thesis outright.
But not everyone
dismissed Dr. Beard. A number of physicians concluded that Beard might be
right, and with his support began employing injectable pancreatic enzymes in
the treatment of their own patients diagnosed with advanced cancer, often with
remarkable results as reported in the conventional scientific literature. These
successes seemed to provoke an even more intense backlash against the
treatment, in a heated debate that lasted right through the first decade of the
20th century. In response to his critics, in 1911 Beard published The Enzyme
Treatment of Cancer and Its Scientific Basis, outlining his hypothesis, his
decades of research and the promising and compelling results. Though released
by a major London publisher to some very positive reviews, the book was soon
forgotten as the scientific community and the media enthusiastically latched on
to Madame Curie’s claim that radiation represented a simple, easy, non-toxic
cure for cancer. It would be years before scientists realized radiation cured
few cancers and was quite toxic—Madame Curie herself died as a result of her
exposure to uranium—but by that time, Beard was dead and forgotten.
John Beard was a brilliant biologist whose main
research interest was pregnancy and the placenta, in particular. He made or
confirmed several crucial observations that led to his theory of cancer. He
observed under the microscope that the trophoblast cells that form the placenta
looked like cancer cells. Beard then made an extraordinary observation:
The placenta stops growing on day 56 of the human pregnancy - on the same
day the fetus's pancreas begins to function.
He came to the conclusion that the fetus's pancreas
secreted something that stopped the growth of the placenta. He then surmised,
and later proved, that the same substance stopped the growth of malignant
cancer. He set out to determine what this pancreatic substance was.
Beard conducted experiments with the juices extracted from young animal pancreases. These juices were injected into cancer tumors and the tumors shrank in both animals and humans. Beard's work was published in JAMA and he wrote a book on the enzyme therapy for cancer. One hundred years ago, physicians tried to duplicate Beard's experimental results, but they failed, and the work was almost forgotten.
We now know that delicate enzymes can lose their
effectiveness if not carefully extracted from young live stock. Even though
trypsin was one of the first proteins whose molecular structure was deciphered
by chemists in the 1960s, we are still not able to synthesize either trypsin or
chymotrypsin. As pure trypsin must be extracted intact from young livestock,
the cost of supplements with these enzymes is high. The cost at the dosage
recommended by enzyme/cancer experts may exceed $2000 per month.
We all begin our lives as a single undifferentiated cell. This cell called a zygote, a sort of "super" stem cell, divides into trillions of progeny. Living cells change after succeeding divisions in the process of differentiation, but not all cells become muscle, bone, eyes, teeth, hair, connective or other tissue. Some cells form into the placenta, a trophoblastic layer of tissue that attaches to the uterine wall during pregnancy. The placenta is discarded by the mother's body after birth.
Beard, the first to observe that placenta cells resemble cancer cells, also saw how malignant cancers act in the same way that placenta cells do in the mother's womb; -- they attach to the uterus and eat through it to obtain a blood supply.
We all begin our lives as a single undifferentiated cell. This cell called a zygote, a sort of "super" stem cell, divides into trillions of progeny. Living cells change after succeeding divisions in the process of differentiation, but not all cells become muscle, bone, eyes, teeth, hair, connective or other tissue. Some cells form into the placenta, a trophoblastic layer of tissue that attaches to the uterine wall during pregnancy. The placenta is discarded by the mother's body after birth.
Beard, the first to observe that placenta cells resemble cancer cells, also saw how malignant cancers act in the same way that placenta cells do in the mother's womb; -- they attach to the uterus and eat through it to obtain a blood supply.
Beard also found other out-of-place trophoblast cells in great numbers throughout the body. These cells are placenta-like, do not differentiate into specific tissue, but lie dormant. Beard called these cells 'germ' cells. They have properties similar to stem cells, and Beard believed that these cells are the seeds of cancer.
He theorized that, as we age, the germ cells are
likely to receive a signal that causes them to begin growing. The conditions
that induce growth might include a hormonal message that the germ cells
interpret as a pregnancy. The estrogen-based hormonal signal that mimics
pregnancy may be induced by physical trauma, or by other unknown reasons. As
this false-placenta begins growing, unchecked, it becomes the malignant mass
which the medical community calls cancer.
Pancreas to the rescue
The pancreas produces the protein dissolving enzymes trypsin (and its precursor chymotrypsin) that Beard believed prevents germ cells from becoming malignant. The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes into the small intestine where they help digest cooked or denatured proteins. Some of these enzymes enter the blood stream. In theory, when the pancreas is healthy, early-stage cancers (false pregnancies) are destroyed (digested) by pancreatic enzymes in the blood. Cancer is best understood as pancreas failure to produce trypsin, in the same way that Diabetes (Type I) is a failure of the pancreas to produce insulin. Beard believed that when the health of the pancreas becomes impaired and the output of pancreatic enzymes declines or stops, any malignant cancer cell that begins dividing grows out of control.
In Beard's time it was believed that enzymes taken orally would not enter the blood stream. Even today there is controversy as to whether or not the large enzyme molecules can be absorbed, and whether the enzyme molecule remains intact in the stomach. The reported success rates of Beard's followers tells us that the trypsin enzymes may be taken by mouth, but, very large amounts are required to make them effective against growing cancers.
Note: Cancer patients may not be
breaking down oral trypsin. If the cancer patients pancreas is malfunctioning,
it is not producing the protein digesting enzyme trypsin, then the body would
not readily digest proteins (e.g. enzymes) taken by mouth.
An interesting discovery is that trypsin's
digestive enzyme action on protein is activated by the high pH (8.0 highly
alkaline) environment in the small intestine. Cancer of the small
intestine is rare. This may help explain the effectiveness of the
increasingly popular cesium treatment for cancer. The Cesium treatment
raises the pH of the cancer to 8.0 and this may be able to "amplify"
the digestive effect of any trypsin present in the blood stream.
Max Wolf
In the 1940s, researchers discovered that there was something in the blood of people without cancer that was completely missing in the blood of people who had cancer. This clue prompted Dr. Max Wolf to read John Beard's book.
Than, Dr. Wolf along with his associate Helen Benitez and Dr. Karl Ransberger, a young biomedical researcher from Germany, tested numerous enzymes from animal and plant sources, and created an enzyme formula containing both trypsin and chymotrypsin. Today, the Wolf/Benitez WoBenzyme® systemic enzyme formula is reportedly the second hottest selling OTC product in parts of Europe - behind ordinary aspirin.
William Kelley
In 1963, a dentist, William D. Kelley, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is almost always quickly fatal, and he rediscovered the connection between pancreatic enzymes and cancer remission. He cured his own cancer - and subsequently hundreds more. However, he was vilified by the medical establishment and became embittered.
Max Wolf
In the 1940s, researchers discovered that there was something in the blood of people without cancer that was completely missing in the blood of people who had cancer. This clue prompted Dr. Max Wolf to read John Beard's book.
Than, Dr. Wolf along with his associate Helen Benitez and Dr. Karl Ransberger, a young biomedical researcher from Germany, tested numerous enzymes from animal and plant sources, and created an enzyme formula containing both trypsin and chymotrypsin. Today, the Wolf/Benitez WoBenzyme® systemic enzyme formula is reportedly the second hottest selling OTC product in parts of Europe - behind ordinary aspirin.
William Kelley
In 1963, a dentist, William D. Kelley, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is almost always quickly fatal, and he rediscovered the connection between pancreatic enzymes and cancer remission. He cured his own cancer - and subsequently hundreds more. However, he was vilified by the medical establishment and became embittered.
Recent Support
The alternative cancer clinics in Mexico claim that
they have a "100%" cure rate for cancer, although they do post a
disclaimer: The 100% cure rate applies only if the patient has not undergone
chemotherapy or radiation - and only in those patients that take the pancreatic
enzymes. Several books have been written that make a connection between
Laetrile and pancreatic enzymes. Reportedly vitamin 'B17' enhances the
anti-cancer enzyme activity.
If cancers are truly false placentas, malignant tumors would mimic pregnancy in other ways. All trophoblast cells produce a unique hormone called the chorionic gonadotrophic (CGH) which is easily detected in urine. Thus, if a person is either pregnant or has cancer, a simple CGH pregnancy test should confirm either or both. It does so, with high accuracy. Recent research has shown that all cancers tested (80% of all known cancers) emit portions of this "pregnancy" hormone.
The University of Michigan Cancer Center has recently proclaimed that current chemotherapy targets the wrong cells.
If cancers are truly false placentas, malignant tumors would mimic pregnancy in other ways. All trophoblast cells produce a unique hormone called the chorionic gonadotrophic (CGH) which is easily detected in urine. Thus, if a person is either pregnant or has cancer, a simple CGH pregnancy test should confirm either or both. It does so, with high accuracy. Recent research has shown that all cancers tested (80% of all known cancers) emit portions of this "pregnancy" hormone.
The University of Michigan Cancer Center has recently proclaimed that current chemotherapy targets the wrong cells.
The Ann Arbor researchers discovered
that not all cells in a tumor are equally malignant. Only a tiny minority of
tumor cells are actually capable of inducing new cancers; the rest are
relatively harmless. "These tumor-inducing cells have many of the
properties of stem cells," said Michael F. Clarke, MD, a professor of
internal medicine, who directed the study. "They make copies of themselves
--a process called self-renewal --and produce all the other kinds of cells in
the original tumor."
Controversy
Before moving forward, I
would like to highlight that in spite of the presumably outstanding results of
the enzyme therapy, it is still not commonly accepted by the mainstream
professional community. Statement from the ACS (American Cancer Society) is
clear: Available scientific evidence
does not support claims that enzyme supplements are effective in treating
cancer.
They claim that there have been no well-designed
studies showing that enzyme supplements are effective in treating cancer.
Experts question whether enzymes taken by mouth can reach tumors through the
bloodstream, as the enzymes are broken down into amino acids before being
absorbed in the intestine.
Studies of enzyme supplements to ease the side
effects of cancer treatment have had mixed results. Two studies done in India
reported that side effects of radiation therapy in cancer patients taking
pancreatic enzyme supplements were less severe than in those taking a placebo.
However, these studies were not blinded; meaning patients and their doctors
knew whether they were taking the actual enzymes. This means that the results
might have been affected by the expectation of improvement, or placebo effect.
A blinded German study, in which patients did not know whether they were taking
the enzymes or placebo pills, did not find any benefit.
Several studies done mainly in Eastern Europe have
looked at the possible effects of adding enzyme supplements to mainstream
cancer treatment. They have generally found that supplements may improve
quality of life and could possibly have other benefits. However, these studies
are not considered scientifically strong. They looked back in time at patients
who were already treated and were not randomized or blinded. A randomized study
of the addition of enzyme therapy to standard chemotherapy for multiple myeloma
patients is under way in the United States.
A small study of patients with pancreatic cancer—conducted
by Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez and published in Nutrition and Cancer in 1999—found
that patients treated with pancreatic enzymes survived longer than typical
patients with pancreatic cancer. However, in a recent review of alternative
cancer therapies, an expert in integrative oncology research methods noted
that, "The study was small and obviously prone to several biases. Not only
is the comparison with national averages unadjusted for confounders, but the
principal results are based on patient selection; twelve patients who did not
comply with treatment were excluded from analysis." Well-designed
scientific studies control or adjust for confounders, factors besides the
method being studied—such as age or cancer stage—that can affect outcome. They
have a control group that receives the standard treatment alone, and they
generally also include patients who did not complete treatment in the final
analysis.
A randomized clinical trial has been sponsored by
the National Cancer Institute to evaluate the Gonzalez regimen for treating
pancreatic cancer, but no results of this trial have yet been published in a
peer-reviewed medical journal.
Sources
and Additional Information:
