Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Prevention

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition just released a report that shows that flavonoids help prevent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Given that I have survived two battles with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma… I was obviously interested to learn how flavonoids might help me avoid a third battle with NHL.  You see, my oncologist tells me that “it’s not a question of ‘if’ the cancer will return… it’s a question of when.” In the following article I will share my observations with you about the new NHL prevention report and I’ll share with you what, I believe, has contributed to my personal survival.

What is non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma?  

The lymphatic system consists of organs such as the lymph nodes, the thymus gland, the spleen, and bone marrow, which participate in the production and storage of infection-fighting white blood cells (lymphocytes), as well as in the network of vessels that carry these white blood cells around the body. Lymphomas are cancers of the white blood cells (lymphocytes) within the lymphatic system.

There are two types of lymphoma: Hodgkin’s lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin’s disease (HD), and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Lymphoma is generally more common in men than in women. The incidence of lymphoma also varies by race. Statistics indicate that African-Americans are less likely to develop lymphoma than Caucasians.

More than 60,000 Americans were diagnosed with lymphoma in 2004, and more than 20,000 died from their disease. New cases of HD represent less than one percent of all cancer cases in the United States. By contrast, NHL is the fifth most common cancer after lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers. NHL is among the top five causes of cancer-related death and is the leading cause of cancer death in males between the ages of 15 and 54.

What are the symptoms of lymphoma?  

The symptoms of HD are swollen lymph nodes, fever, night sweats and weight loss, and the symptoms of NHL are swollen lymph nodes, excessive sweating, severe itching and weight loss. Prior to the first time I was diagnosed with NHL, I was loosing weight and I was experiencing night sweats. I did not experience the itching or the swollen lymph nodes. Prior to my NHL reoccurrence three years later – I was experiencing night sweats again and I had a golf-ball sized lump growing inside my neck.

What causes lymphoma?

Lymphomas are linked to a variety of risk factors, including diets rich in animal protein and fats, medical history, environmental exposure to chemicals, and infections. The cause of lymphoma is still a subject of much debate, however, because many lymphoma patients do not have obvious risk factors – and this includes me. The only explanation that I can think of, regarding my own NHL diagnosis is genetics. My oldest brother won his battle with NHL about 24 years before I was diagnosed. It’s a miracle that he survived – given what doctors new about NHL treatment in the late 70′s. My brother still has a note from a hospice nurse that described him as being “uncooperative”… he’s my kinda guy!

How do doctors treat lymphoma patients?

Conventional medical treatment for lymphoma has been based on combinations of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and stem cell therapy. However, new treatments for lymphoma now compliment these traditional therapies. New treatments use substances that can specifically target the delivery of radiotherapy to lymphoma cells. When I was first treated for cancer in 2004 I went through 9 months of hell – chemotherapy (CHOP), my immune system disappeared completely twice and I was hospitalized twice.  In early 2006, just two years later, I was treated with radiotherapy (Bexxar)… within two months I was as good as new. Science has come an awful long way in such a short period of time.

The new report on NHL prevention:

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published (May ’08) the findings of investigators from the National Cancer Institute and other research centers of an association between a greater intake of dietary flavonoids and a lower risk of NHL.

Flavonoids’ anticancer property has been proposed to exist via prevention of the formation of cancer-causing metabolites, inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, and stimulation of programmed tumor cell self-destruction (apoptosis).

The results of the present study “support the associations seen in other studies of lower NHL risk in relation to plant food intake, and they suggest that specific flavonoid compounds within plants may be partly responsible,” the authors conclude.

Flavonoids

Flavonoids are widely disbursed throughout plants; they trigger the production of natural enzymes that fight disease. Flavonoids are also known to strengthen capillaries, which can promote healthy blood flow to the brain, helping to maintain cognitive health.

Foods that contain high amounts of flavonoids include green tea, blueberries, pomegranate, soy, red wine, dried parsley, red beans, cranberries and blackberries. Many other foods, including red and yellow fruits and vegetables and some nuts, also contain flavonoids.

Nutritional Therapy

Lymphoma patients should consult with their physicians before using any nutritional supplements while receiving medical treatment. In addition, lymphoma patients using nutritional supplements should enlist their physicians in ensuring the use of blood tests and diagnostic procedures that are essential in monitoring the effectiveness of any adjuvant therapy for lymphoma. 

It’s important to buy all of your supplements from a reputable supplement provider. Buy your supplements from a provider who stands behind their products with purity and quality guarantees. Look for a supplement provider who complies with GMP, the FDA’s Good manufacturing Process criterion that has been established for the pharmaceutical industry.

I recommend Life Extension Foundation. I buy all of my nutritional supplements from Life Extension Foundation because of their thorough information, their published research and because of the quality of their products.

Following is a lymphoma-prevention protocol that Life Extension Foundation has published. I started   taking nutritional supplements as part of Life Extension’s lymphoma protocol after my initial chemotherapy treatments were completed. I believe that when the cancer reappeared two years later, that my diet, my overall wellbeing and my nutritional supplement, lymphoma protocol, limited the severity of the cancer and contributed to my quick recovery.  

Note: Upon my doctor’s advise, I did not take any supplements while I was undergoing treatments. Talk to your doctor… believe me, you do not want to do anything that will hinder your treatment and recovery.

Following is a list of nutritional supplements that have demonstrated activity against lymphoma cells. These supplements can be used to complement conventional drugs, and they can be closely monitored for effectiveness with a range of blood tests and diagnostic procedures.

• Curcumin – Is an extract from the spice turmeric, it blocks the growth of various types of lymphoma cells, including Burkitt’s lymphoma and EBV B-cell lymphomas. In addition to arresting the growth of lymphoma cells, curcumin also causes lymphoma cell death by reducing the levels of some genes (c-myc, bcl-2) and mutant p53 proteins. Curcumin has an additional benefit in that it blocks the production of growth factors that cancer cells require to invade other organs. Clinical studies have shown curcumin supplements to be safe in doses of up to 3.6 grams a day.
• Soy Extract - Genistein, found in soy extracts, induces cell death in lymphoma cells. It increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy for lymphoma by making cells more susceptible to agents that cause lymphoma cell death. Genistein also reduces the ability of cancer cell spread (angiogenesis) by blocking the production of proteins (angiogenesis growth factors) that cancer cells need to form new blood vessels.
• Vitamin A - Natural and synthetic vitamin A (also known as retinoids) promote normal cell differentiation and have been used to treat T-cell lymphomas.
• Vitamin D3 - Vitamin D3 blocks the growth of lymphoma cells.
• Green Tea – Contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), triggers lymphoma cell death. In addition, EGCG from green tea reduces the ability of lymphoma cells to invade other organs by blocking the production of growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the glycoprotein messenger interleukin-8 (IL-8), which lymphoma cells need to spread.
• Vitamin C - In experimental studies, vitamin C has improved the effectiveness of chemotherapy in inducing lymphoma cell death.
• Vitamin E - Boosts the function of immune cells capable of killing lymphoma cells. Alpha-tocopheryl succinate, a semisynthetic analogue of vitamin E, is a potential adjuvant in cancer treatment.
• Resveratrol – A naturally occurring substance found in grapes, blocks the growth of lymphoma cells and also increases their rate of cell death. Resveratrol sensitizes chemotherapy-resistant lymphoma cells to treatment with paclitaxel-based chemotherapy. Resveratrol also reduces the production of growth factors such as VEGF and IL-8, and theoretically should be beneficial in reducing the ability of lymphoma cells to spread to other organs.
• Ginger – Extracts from ginger, known as galanals A and B, induce cell death in human lymphoma cells.
• Fish Oil – Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) found in fish oil induces cell death in lymphoma cells. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil normalized elevated blood lactic acid in a dose-dependent manner, increasing disease-free survival and survival time for dogs with Stage III lymphoma.
• Garlic – Can induce death in lymphoma cells. Indeed, in a recent study, conjugation of a garlic extract to the antibody rituximab (which targets lymphoma cells) led to the death of these cells.

Purchasing Nutritional Supplements

If you purchase your supplements via the internet, make sure that you examine your supplement bottles before you discard your receipt and packing materials. Make sure that the bottle’s seal is not broken. Read the label… make sure that it has an appropriate expiration date.

Caution:  

An aggressive program of dietary supplementation should not be launched without the supervision of a qualified physician. Several of the nutrients suggested in this protocol may have adverse effects. These include:

Curcumin

• Do not take curcumin if you have a bile duct obstruction or a history of gallstones. Taking curcumin can stimulate bile production.
• Consult your doctor before taking curcumin if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or a history of peptic ulcer disease.
• Consult your doctor before taking curcumin if you take warfarin or antiplatelet drugs. Curcumin can have antithrombotic activity.
• Always take curcumin with food. Curcumin may cause gastric irritation, ulceration, gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease if taken on an empty stomach.
• Curcumin can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.

Daidzein

• Consult your doctor before taking daidzein/daidzin if you have prostate cancer.
• Do not use daidzein/daidzin if you have estrogen receptor-positive tumors.
• Daidzein/daidzin can cause hypothyroidism in some people.

EPA/DHA

• Consult your doctor before taking EPA/DHA if you take warfarin (Coumadin). Taking EPA/DHA with warfarin may increase the risk of bleeding.
• Discontinue using EPA/DHA 2 weeks before any surgical procedure.

Garlic

• Garlic has blood-thinning, anticlotting properties.
• Discontinue using garlic before any surgical procedure.
• Garlic can cause headache, muscle pain, fatigue, vertigo, watery eyes, asthma, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
• Ingesting large amounts of garlic can cause bad breath and body odor.

Genistein (Ginger)

• Consult your doctor before taking genistein/genistin if you have prostate cancer.
• Do not take genistein/genistin if you have estrogen receptor-positive tumors.
• Genistein/genistin can cause hypothyroidism in some people.

Green Tea

• Consult your doctor before taking green tea extract if you take aspirin or warfarin (Coumadin). Taking green tea extract and aspirin or warfarin can increase the risk of bleeding.
• Discontinue using green tea extract 2 weeks before any surgical procedure. Green tea extract may decrease platelet aggregation.
• Green tea extract contains caffeine, which may produce a variety of symptoms including restlessness, nausea, headache, muscle tension, sleep disturbances, and rapid heartbeat.

Vitamin A

• Do not take vitamin A if you have hypervitaminosis A.
• Do not take vitamin A if you take retinoids or retinoid analogues (such as acitretin, all-trans-retinoic acid, bexarotene, etretinate, and isotretinoin). Vitamin A can add to the toxicity of these drugs.
• Do not take large amounts of vitamin A. Taking large amounts of vitamin A may cause acute or chronic toxicity. Early signs and symptoms of chronic toxicity include dry, rough skin; cracked lips; sparse, coarse hair; and loss of hair from the eyebrows. Later signs and symptoms of toxicity include irritability, headache, pseudotumor cerebri (benign intracranial hypertension), elevated serum liver enzymes, reversible noncirrhotic portal high blood pressure, fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, and death from liver failure.

Vitamin C

• Do not take vitamin C if you have a history of kidney stones or of kidney insufficiency (defined as having a serum creatine level greater than 2 milligrams per deciliter and/or a creatinine clearance less than 30 milliliters per minute.
• Consult your doctor before taking large amounts of vitamin C if you have hemochromatosis, thalassemia, sideroblastic anemia, sickle cell anemia, or erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. You can experience iron overload if you have one of these conditions and use large amounts of vitamin C.

Vitamin D

• Do not take vitamin D if you have hypercalcemia.
• Consult your doctor before taking vitamin D if you are taking digoxin or any cardiac glycoside.
• Only take large doses of vitamin D (2000 international units or 50 micrograms or more daily) if prescribed by your doctor.
• See your doctor frequently if you take vitamin D and thiazides or if you take large doses of vitamin D. You may develop hypercalcemia.
• Chronic large doses (95 micrograms or 3800 international units or more daily) of vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia.

Vitamin E

• Consult your doctor before taking vitamin E if you take warfarin (Coumadin).
• Consult your doctor before taking high doses of vitamin E if you have a vitamin K deficiency or a history of liver failure.
• Consult your doctor before taking vitamin E if you have a history of any bleeding disorder such as peptic ulcers, hemorrhagic stroke, or hemophilia.
• Discontinue using vitamin E one month before any surgical procedure.

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