Cancer is immortal. It occurs when the genetic program in a cell goes haywire and the cell no longer obeys the rules of growth, differentiation and natural death. It refuses to die on time and in its quest for survival, wages a war against healthy cells.
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First one needs to understand cell differentiation. Each cell is programmed to carry out a specific job in the body and then die. This process is called cell differentiation. Cancer cells have blocked differentiation and refuse to die. Instead, they multiply and invade normal tissue.
Cell differentiation therapy takes the approach of understanding how the cell works, how cancer cells develop and then seeks ways to correct the "broken switches" that are signaling cells to malfunction.
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Cell differentiation defines how each individual cell behaves and carries out its function. Often after cell differentiation, there is a limited life span followed by a cell death program called apoptosis - the natural death of each cell. When a cancer cell malfunctions, it often survives past its natural death. Cell differentiation therapy involves reprogramming these cells to let them know, "It's time to die."
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It has been proven that reversing cancer cells into normally behaving cells can be achieved with retinoic acid, a derivative of Vitamin A and arsenic trioxide. So far, this treatment has resulted in complete remission in 95% of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia and an FDA approved drug that is now used worldwide. Cell differentiation therapies are currently being tested on other cancers such as breast cancer and prostrate cancer.
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The model of 20th century cancer care was to find the cancer and kill it, killing healthy cells along with it. Whether through surgical removal, chemotherapy or radiation, this may have harmful side effects and, at times, fails to succeed in killing the cancer cells. Not only has differentiation therapy successfully corrected abnormal cancer cell behavior, it has been demonstrated that response to chemotherapeutic agents can be improved when followed by cell differentiation agents. A combination treatment sometimes dramatically reduces some of the toxicity of chemotherapy alone, greatly improving a patient's quality of life.
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To learn more, we encourage you to contact the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation by phone at 212-348-0136 or e-mail at swcrf@waxmancancer.org.
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