Chemotherapy May Spread Cancer and Trigger More Aggressive Tumors, Says New Research
Alex Pietrowski, Staff Writer
Waking Times
The world spent over $100 billion a year on cancer drugs in 2015, a year in which the world’s highest paid CEO made his killing from cancer patients. Much of this is spent on chemotherapy, which is well-known to weaken patients, sacrifice their immune systems and make them susceptible to co-infections, diseases and other complications.
In addition to these side-effects, it has now been discovered that while chemotherapy does kill cancer cells, it can also trigger cancer cells to disperse throughout the body triggering more aggressive tumors to develop in the lungs and other vital bodily systems.
A new research study conducted by Dr. George Karagiannis of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York explains how this works. Entitled, Neoadjuvant chemotherapy induces breast cancer metastasis through a TMEM-mediated mechanism, Dr. Karagiannis’ study focused on breast cancer patients, looking at the unintended consequences of chemo.
Many are given chemotherapy before surgery, but the new research suggests that, although it shrinks tumours in the short term, it could trigger the spread of cancer cells around the body.
It is thought the toxic medication switches on a repair mechanism in the body which ultimately allows tumours to grow back stronger. It also increases the number of ‘doorways’ on blood vessels which allow cancer to spread throughout the body. [Source]
In short, chemotherapy is now shown to in some cases increase the likelihood that cancer will spread throughout the patient’s body. The cancer cells are reacting to chemotherapy by dispersing throughout the body to look for new hosts.
By studying the process of intravasation or entry of cells into the vasculature, Karagiannis et al. discovered that, in addition to killing tumor cells, chemotherapy treatment can also increase intravasation. Groups of cells collectively known as tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM) can serve as gateways for tumor cells entering the vasculature, and the authors discovered that several types of chemotherapy can increase the amounts of TMEM complexes and circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream. [Source]
Karagiannis discovered that mice exposed to chemotherapy saw an increase the number of cancer cells circulating throughout the body and lungs. This research finally offers a scientific explanation of why so many patients see their cancer spread into other parts of their bodies once chemo/radiation treatment begins.
Having isolated this effect in breast cancer cases only, the research opens the door to examine the possibility of this happening in patients with other types of cancer who choose chemotherapy.
In this study we only investigated chemotherapy-induced cancer cell dissemination in breast cancer. We are currently working on other types of cancer to see if similar effects are elicited. ~Dr. George Karagiannis
Final Thoughts
There are many approaches to treating cancer, and shockingly many of the natural approaches which require few if any drugs are actually illegal in our society. Furthermore, regarding breast cancer, mammograms are known to be dangerous, the number of false positive cancer test results is shockingly high, and in many cases women are being treated for cancer when they don’t even have it.
The preferred mainstream cancer treatment has become a means of capitalizing on human suffering, and while it has long been suspected that chemo can do more harm than good, we now have research indicating that this is indeed the case. Dr. Karagiannis’ study adds a very significant piece of the puzzle of why the contemporary model of cancer care should be abandoned in favor of natural treatments.
Read more articles by Alex Pietrowski.
About the Author
Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and Offgrid Outpost, a provider of storable food and emergency kits. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.
This article (Chemotherapy May Spread Cancer and Trigger More Aggressive Tumors, Says New Research) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Alex Pietrowski and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.