Biosalud Day Hospital has a specific Integrative Oncology unit. The aim is to complement conventional medical treatments with biological medicine and join forces to increase the chances of overcoming the disease.
To design the complementary treatment, the first thing we do is analyze the causes that have led to the cancerous process. Our approach is based on intervening in the physiology of the cancer cell to weaken it, while activating the immune system.
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Integrative oncology enhances the effectiveness of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and minimizes their side effects by focusing on three fundamental pillars:
Integrative oncology takes a more holistic, long-term approach to disease, paying closer attention to the overall health of cancer patients. Integrative oncology strategies such as nutrition, exercise, stress management, and specific supplements can reduce inflammation and boost immunity, which may lower the risk of relapse.
Conventional oncology has focused primarily on finding "better ways to kill the tumor—usually with large, and sometimes lethal, toxic consequences for the host." Integrative oncology, on the other hand, focuses on the interaction between the tumor and its immediate biochemical environment in the body, often referred to as the "terrain."
"For almost any chronic disease, inflammation is at the root," says cancer researcher and biochemist Bharat Aggarwal, PhD, of the University of Texas.
Fortunately," says Dwight McKee, a thought leader in the field of integrative oncology, " the microenvironment in which tumor cells live is finally becoming a focus for laboratory researchers.
What all integration strategies have in common is the idea that attacking the tumor is often not enough because inflammation could, at any time, set the stage for cancer relapse.
One of the most effective tools that integrative oncology professionals use to reduce inflammation and boost immunity is also the simplest: basic nutrition.
In addition to increasing our consumption of anti-cancer foods such as cruciferous vegetables, garlic, and onions, one of the most important dietary changes any of us can make is to drastically reduce refined sugars and refined carbohydrates, which directly fuel cancer growth.
Herbs and spices also have anti-cancer potential, such as turmeric, which can block cancer-causing metabolic pathways and stop tumor proliferation, according to a study published in March 2012 in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
In his latest book, Inflammation, Lifestyle, and Chronic Disease: The Silent Link (CRC Press, 2011), Aggarwal highlights other dietary recommendations, including drinking fresh orange juice (not concentrate), which has "profound anti-inflammatory effects." Other studies point to the powerful anti-inflammatory power of resveratrol, found in red wine and grapes, which suppresses dangerous inflammatory cytokines.
One of the characteristics of integrative oncology is that each cancer patient is unique and requires a specific botanical-nutritional plan for success.
Chronic stress, which triggers dangerous fight-or-flight hormones, can be as inflammatory as poor nutrition, increasing the risk of cancer.
For example, in a 2008 study published in Clinical Cancer Research, Wenzel L.B concluded that patients with cervical cancer have "severely compromised quality of life" and experience significant stress as a result. Research shows that unrelieved chronic stress can affect patients' biochemical terrain and, if left unaddressed, can leave their immune system and biology in turmoil.
The starting point for many relaxation treatments is deep abdominal breathing, practiced simply by finding a comfortable sitting or lying position and taking deep, slow, rhythmic breaths. The next step usually involves progressive muscle relaxation.
Leaving anxiety behind, even for a short time, says Block, relieves chronic tension and reduces cortisol and other stress hormones that can contribute to disease progression. Any technique that helps the patient focus on the present, drowning out stressful thoughts to achieve deep relaxation, can work: yoga, meditation, tai chi, or journaling, just to name a few.
Block also recommends cognitive reframing— an approach that supports patients in changing the way they typically react to physical symptoms, social interactions, troubling communications, and even negative self-talk.
Integrative physicians believe that complementary tools in the fight against cancer work best when combined with conventional oncology techniques.
For integrative oncologist Dwight McKee, this requires careful analysis of each tumor. "The important thing is not where the tumor started," he says, "but the tissue in which it currently resides, as well as its gene expression, signaling networks, and drug sensitivities." Breast cancer that has spread to the bones is qualitatively different than breast cancer that has spread to the brain.
McKee also strives to determine how aggressively a cancer spreads: "Some tumors are quite indolent and spread slowly. In such cases, simply changing the terrain—the biology of the surrounding tissue—can prevent it from progressing. But at the other end of the spectrum are tumors that are so aggressive that they will take over no matter how the terrain is altered."
McKee examines tumor samples using a technique called flow cytometry profiling: The patient's tumor biopsies are exposed to dozens of candidate chemotherapy drugs and targeted agents, along with some botanicals. Isolated compounds such as artemisinin or oleander extract, immune mediators, and drugs enhance chemotherapy. The tumor-killing capacity of each drug is then quantified in the laboratory.
Controlling inflammation is often at odds with aggressive conventional interventions—surgery, radiation, chemotherapy. More aggressive tumors require invasive and toxic treatments. However, treatments produce inflammation in the terrain, setting the stage for cancer to recur.
One strategy McKee uses to reduce inflammation is tumor ablation, a technique that involves inserting a needle into each tumor deposit that can be found and killing it by freezing or heating.
Integrative oncology has achieved real success in extending conventional strategies, but its most important advances stem from prevention.
"Just because you've achieved remission through removal of the primary tumor doesn't mean you're cancer-free," explains Keith Block. "Although conventional cancer treatments often eliminate much of the disease burden, micro-metastases may have already migrated and spread to other parts of the body.
"That's why, for my patients, complete remission doesn't mean the end of treatment. Instead, it means the beginning of the containment phase, when we focus on stopping or slowing down growth."
