In every aspect, cancer stinks. And this really stinks: the body's own immune response may be partly responsible for prostate cancer metastasis.

Comments

[Jake]

More proof that this theory is correct is this study that showed ibuprofen (an anti-inflamitory drug ) reduced cancer cell growth. There are many other studies showing that anti-inflamitory drugs suppress prostate cancer.

http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Health/5-09-01ProstateCancerSlowed.htm

[pj]

There's nothing new about the immune system being a partner in cancer progression. Since the 1970s it's been known that tumors closely resemble a "wound that never heals," i.e., the tumor orchestrates the body's natural wound-healing mechanism to enable its own growth, by having the body construct new blood vessels and tumor tissue just as it constructs replacement tissue for wounds, but somehow the tumor blocks certain parts of the wound healing process so that the "healing" never stops.

And it's been known for a long time that immune dysfunction heightens cancer risk, e.g. CLL patients have three times higher risk of solid tumor malignancies than the general population.

What's new here is identification of a specific signaling mechanism involved in metastasis, which has been a fairly mysterious process.

But as a general thing, cancer patients should be wary of herbal medicines or supplements that purport to "strengthen the immune system." They might be hastening tumor growth.

[maik]

You have an outstanding good and well structured site. I enjoyed browsing through it.