Melatonin and cancer progression (or lack of)

Sharing some stuff regarding cancer prevention that I have in my collection:

For over 15 years the National Cancer Institute at the NIH, Cancer.gov, has known that melatonin is effective against cancer. Why didn't the oncologist share this with us when my mother got brain cancer? Could it be that 20 mg of Melatonin is about $11 a month and Temodar is $200.00 a pill and she got 102 pills? Hummm... Plus Temodar gives doctors repeat business. Mom went to the ER twice because the chemo shut down her bowels.

By the way, apparently marijuana increases melatonin significantly. I have not seen any studies on this, just so-called "common knowledge" stuff on advocates for medical marijuana. Though, they might have a point. I'm in FL, pot is illegal. We had our share of pot smoking in the 70s and 80s and are not fond of weed anymore.

NIH report:

http://www.cancer.gov/cam/attachments/MelatoninSummary.pdf - NIH

In all studies, melatonin was given orally once a day in the dark phase of the photoperiod at doses of 20–40 mg/day. In randomized studies of 1,440 patients with untreatable advanced solid-tumors who received melatonin or supportive care alone, melatonin prolonged survival time and prevented neoplastic cachexia, even though objective tumor regression was seen in only 2% of patients.

http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/3462341/reload=0;jsessionid=IZRO3ncFtCP7mNJYklWM.2

There is some evidence to suggest that the pineal gland influences neoplastic growth. Either crude or partially-purified pineal extracts have been used to treat malignant neoplasms in humans. More compelling evidence indicates that the pineal hormone melatonin, in addition to its well known antireproductive effects, may also exert oncostatic effects particularly in animal models of human breast cancer. However, it is not clear whether melatonin inhibits mammary cancer growth via an indirect neuroendocrine mechanism or via an action directly on the cancer cells themselves. Studies are described in which physiological concentrations of melatonin are shown to have marked inhibitory effects directly on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell growth in culture. Supra- or subphysiological levels of melatonin are completely ineffective in retarding breast cancer cell proliferation. Precursors and metabolites of melatonin such as serotonin, N-acetylserotonin and 6-hydroxymelatonin do not inhibit MCF-7 cell growth. Similarly, neither 5-methoxytryptophol nor 5-methoxytryptamine, regarded by some to be putative pineal hormones, exhibit antimitogenic properties. Melatonin completely blocks the estradiol-induced stimulation of MCF-7 cell proliferation. In defined, serum-free medium, melatonin loses its antimitogenic capabilities unless cells are also simultaneously exposed to either estradiol or prolactin. Therefore, the antiproliferative effect of melatonin may be dependent on the presence of serum and a complex interaction with hormones such as estradiol and/or prolactin.

Effects of the Pineal Hormone Melatonin on the Proliferation and Morphological Characteristics of Human Breast Cancer Cells (MCF-7) in Culture
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/48/21/6121.short

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstractBuch&ArtikelNr=227533&ProduktNr=245148

The prognosis of brain glioblastoma is still very poor and the median survival time is generally less than 6 months. At present, no chemotherapy has appeared to influence its prognosis. On the other hand, recent advances in brain tumor biology have suggested that brain tumor growth is at least in part under a neuroendocrine control, mainly realized by opioid peptides and pineal substances. On this basis, we evaluated the influence of a concomitant administration of the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) in patients with glioblastoma treated with radical or adjuvant radiotherapy (RT). The study included 30 patients with glioblastoma, who were randomized to receive RT alone (60 Gy) or RT plus MLT (20 mg/daily orally) until disease progression. Both the survival curve and the percent of survival at 1 year were significantly higher in patients treated with RT plus MLT than in those receiving RT alone (6/14 vs. 1/16). Moreover, RT or steroid therapy-related toxicities were lower in patients concomitantly treated with MLT. This preliminary study suggests that a radioneuroendocrine approach with RT plus the pineal hormone MLT may prolong the survival time and improve the quality of life of patients affected by glioblastoma.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/jan2004_report_melatonin_04.htm

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/ctmc/2002/00000002/00000002/art00002

http://www.alternative-cancer-care.com/Melatonin_Cancer.html

http://www.townsendletter.com/AugSept2010/estrogen0810.html

Martin Dayton, et al. Defeat Cancer: 15 Doctors of Integrative and Naturopathic Medicine Tell You How. BioMed Publishing Group, May 2011

http://www.naturalnews.com/033511_melatonin_cancer.html

Role of human microflora in health, diet, and disease

Your Gut Bacteria Are What You Eat

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/09/your-gut-bacteria-are-what-you-e.html

Science, the team reports a similar clustering into enterotypes—although only two of the three showed up clearly—and discovered that dietary habits are linked to the type of bugs that thrive in the gut. People who eat a lot of meat and saturated fat tended to have more Bacteroides in their flora; Ruminococcus prevailed in people who consumed lots of alcohol and polyunsaturated fats, whereas Prevotella favored a diet rich in carbohydrates. It's not clear whether one type of microbial flora is healthier for the host than the other. But if that turns out to be the case, the study offers hope of new ways to improve health by changing diet, Bushman says.

However, other findings reported in the same paper show that you can't change enterotype overnight. The team sequestered 10 volunteers in a hospital and fed half of them a fixed diet very high in fat and low in fiber; the other half of the subjects had the opposite menu. The researchers found that the bacterial populations began to shift within both groups, with some species becoming more common and others less common, but people had the same enterotype when the study ended after 10 days. If switching gut enterotype is possible, the team concludes, it may take a long-term dietary intervention.

Gut Bacteria Reflect Dietary Differences
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/08/03/gut-bacteria-reflect-dietary-differences

The 'microflora hypothesis' of allergic diseases.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16393316

Role of human microflora in health and disease
http://www.springerlink.com/content/t365180210212606/

What is the Paleo diet for a person with Asian heritage?

Most of India, that is those who are not affluent, eat lentils and rice a lot. My husband just corrected me, he lived in India for 14 years, he said that most of the poor eat millet (bhakri) and vegetables. The Asians in China and Japan, eat rice and noodles as far as I know. Isn't a paleo diet relative to one's ancestors?

When we discuss Paleo eating, are we discussing our common ancestors in Africa? Anybody? I have no idea.

I have noticed with myself that carbs coming from any color veggie except white (with the exception of cauliflower), brown GABA rice, and sprouted lentils have not made any impact my weight. However, anything with sugar, no matter whether it's fruit juice or a vegan cookie, these things do have a negative impact. I also feel sluggish.

Here's an interesting article about microflora and health.
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/08/03/gut-bacteria-reflect-dietary-differences

Excerpt:

Children from Burkina Faso, who ate millet grain, sorghum wheat, legumes and vegetables, had high numbers of bacteria that digest plant fibers. Also found in the guts of termites [which these children eat], these bacteria break down fibers that humans typically can’t. The bacteria make short-chain fatty acids that give people energy and protect them from inflammatory gut diseases such as Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disorder.

Burkina Faso's children also had decreased numbers of diarrhea-causing bacteria compared with children from Italy. That finding surprised the team, because the African children often drank water polluted with such bacteria.

“The notion that gut flora plays a role in human health has been marginally ignored,” says evolutionary nutritionist Loren Cordain of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, who was not involved with this study. “What we’ve found over the past five or 10 years is that it plays a huge role in our health and well being.”

This is a story, that for me, really drives home that there is no one-size-fits all diet. However, if the microbes and enzymes are in the people, and there's no genetic issue, people can adapt to any diet (sans the sugar, franken food, and factory farming, and GMO crap).

I have a couple theories that will never be proven:

My theory of how early man was able to eat foods with phytic acid and not have it block minerals: our early selves had the phytase enzyme.

My theory of how early man was able to convert ALA from nuts to DHA: healthy levels of the enzyme that does this conversion. Also, no sugar and high levels of Omega 6 to thwart the effort.

The issue is that the same enzymes that convert ALA, also convert LA into its long chain metabolite known as arachidonic acid (AA 20:4ω-6). Given this scenario it is understandable that diets high in omega6 fatty acids can influence, and in reality reduce, the conversion of short chain omega3 fatty acid into its long chain metabolites. http://www.azchia.com/ala_conversion_epa_dpa_dha.htm

You might be aware that a few studies have shown that we convert 0.5% up to 9% - 13%, women doing better than men. I doubt it's estrogen related as some scientists hypothesized. I think it's because women tend to eat healthier than men.

I would love to have the money to check the gut microbes in any healthy long term vegan. It would explain a lot, I think.

It's expensive, I bet. A comprehensive nutritional test my mother had, including her Krebs cycle, was $1400.00. It didn't check her intestinal microbes. All it did was just let us know that she needs more pancreatic enzymes among other things. The MD/ND also told us that we need to rotate our probiotics and change brands every 2 months because we get used certain strains and they are not effective.