Cancer Cure Now

Cancer is often discovered only when it becomes symptomatic. Screening tests which can detect cancer before this point can also help monitor the progress of cancer treatment.

Some tumors, such as lung carcinoma, appear on chest X-rays. CAT scans (computerized axial tomography) and MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) can show deep tissue tumors. Radionucleotide uptake by fast-growing tumors can reveal small metastasis scattered throughout the body.

There are also variety of non-invasive lab tests available which measure substances secreted by tumors. By monitoring the upward or downward trend of such tests over a period of several months, progress of ongoing cancer treatment can be assessed.

HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) can be secreted by a variety of different tumors. It is the same hormone measured in pregnancy tests, so this test is cheap and widely available.

Be sure to use a sensitive test, in the 10mIU/ml range. The test indicates the presence of cancer cells even when there are no signs or symptoms (providing pregnancy is ruled out in female patients). In a pregnancy, HCG suppresses the maternal immune response to the foreign protein of the fetus; similarly, the HCG produced by tumors protects them from being destroyed by the body's immune system.

The fact that both tumors and embryonic cells secrete HCG caused researchers such as Dr. Howard Beard to speculate, as early as 1902, that cancer is derived from a rogue trophoblast (a primitive embryonic cell which modern scientists refer to as a stem cell) that starts to reproduce in a manner similar to pregnancy. Modern research suggests the stem cell theory of cancer to be true. 

The urine test for HCG was initially used as an adjunct for cancer treatment in the late 1930's by oncologist Dr. Manuel D. Navarro, who found HCG to be elevated in all types of cancers.

Urine specimens provide a better measurment of HCG than blood tests because HCG is metabolized by glycosylation in the liver as it travels through the hepatic circulation. It is not affected when processed by the kidneys.

In 1980, Papapetrou and co-authors evaluated the accuracy of HCG Immunoassays. In 32 proven cancer cases, the immunoassay test gave 31 positive results using urine while only 12 positive results were reported using blood.

According to Navarro, the HCG test detects the presence of brain cancer as early as 29 months before symptoms appear; 27 months for fibrosarcoma of the abdomen; 24 months for skin cancer; 12 months for cancer of the bones (metastasis from breast cancer removed 2 years earlier).

A recent study which used the HCG test to find metastasis of known testicular tumors concluded that "hCG RaID appears to be a safe and effective method of detecting and locating hCG-producing tumors and has been found to disclose occult testicular cancers." 1

PSA (prostate specific antigen) is the standard marker for prostate cancer.  Research on the relationship of HCG to prognosis of prostate cancer has produced mixed results. One study found that while HCG was elevated in prostate cancer, it was not an accurate marker of treatment progress, unlike PSA. 2 Another study found that elevated levels of HCG correlated with poor prognosis, regardless of the histological grade of tumor. 3

In addition, there are tumor markers somewhat specific for various tumors :, CA 125 for ovarian cancer; CA 15.3 (27.29) for breast cancer, and CA 19.9 for gastric and pancreatic cancers.

AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) is a protein found in the bloodstream of some men with nonseminomatous testicular cancer, as well as cases of teratocarcinoma, embryonal cell carcinoma, and yolk sac carcinoma. AFP can also be elevated due to liver disease.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1)David M. Goldenberg, E. Edmund Kim, Frank H. DeLand, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Radioantibodies in the Radioimmunodetection of Cancer and for Disclosure of Occult Metastases

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 78, No. 12, [Part 2: Biological Sciences] (Dec., 1981), pp. 7754-7758

(2)U. Otite, S. Baithun, F. Chinegwundoh, V.H. Nargund, R.K. Iles Detection of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin-B in Serum or Urine of Prostate Cancer Patients Is of No Clinical Significance Tumor Biology 2006;27:181-186 (DOI: 10.1159/000093021) (3) M T Sheaff, J E Martin, D F Badenoch, and S I Baithun beta-hcg as a prognostic marker in adenocarcinoma of the prostate, Journal of Clinical Pathology. 1996 April; 49(4): 329-332