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Iodine Research

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Breast pg 6 (cont)


WAPNIR
Bioluminescent monitoring of NIS-mediated (131)I ablative effects in MCF-7 xenografts.
Ghosh M, Gambhir SS, De A, Nowels K, Goris M, Wapnir I.
Mol Imaging. 2006 Apr-Jun;5(2):76-84.
[abstract only]

Optical imaging has made it possible to monitor response to anticancer therapies in tumor xenografts. The
concept of treating breast cancers with (131)I is predicated on the expression of the Na(+)/I- symporter (NIS) in
many tumors and uptake of I- in some. The pattern of (131)I radioablative effects were investigated in an MCF-7
xenograft model dually transfected with firefly luciferase and NIS genes. On Day 16 after tumor cell implantation, 3
mCi of (131)I was injected. Bioluminescent imaging using d-luciferin and a cooled charge-coupled device
camera was carried out on Days 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 16, 22, 29, and 35. Tumor bioluminescence decreased in (131)I-
treated tumors after Day 3 and reached a nadir on Day 22. Conversely, bioluminescence steadily increased in
controls and was 3.85-fold higher than in treated tumors on Day 22. Bioluminescence in (131)I-treated tumors
increased after Day 22, corresponding to tumor regrowth. By Day 35, treated tumors were smaller and
accumulated 33% less (99m)TcO(4)(-) than untreated tumors. NIS immunoreactivity was present in <50% of
(131)I-treated cells compared to 85-90% of controls. In summary, a pattern of tumor regression occurring over
the first three weeks after (131)I administration was observed in NIS-expressing breast cancer xenografts.

Immunohistochemical profile of the sodium/iodide symporter in thyroid, breast, and other carcinomas using high
density tissue microarrays and conventional sections.
Wapnir IL, van de Rijn M, Nowels K, Amenta PS, Walton K, Montgomery K, Greco RS, Dohan O, Carrasco N.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Apr;88(4):1880-8.

Extrathyroidal cancers could potentially be targeted with (131)I, if the Na(+)/I(-) symporter (NIS) were functional.
Using immunohistochemical methods we probed 1278 human samples with anti-NIS antibody, including 253
thyroid and 169 breast conventional whole tissue sections (CWTS). Four high density tissue microarrays
containing a wide variety of breast lesions, normal tissues, and carcinoma cores were tested. The results of the
normal microarray were corroborated in 50 CWTS. Nineteen of 34 normal tissues, including bladder, colon,
endometrium, kidney, prostate, and pancreas, expressed NIS. Nineteen of 25 carcinomas demonstrated NIS
immunopositivity; 55.7% of 479 carcinoma microarray cores expressed NIS, including prostate (74%), ovary
(73%), lung (65%), colon (62.6%), and endometrium (56%). NIS protein was present in 75% benign thyroid
lesions, 73% thyroid cancers, 30% normal-appearing, peritumoral breasts, 88% ductal carcinomas in situ, and
76% invasive breast carcinoma CWTS. Comparatively, breast microarray cores had lower immunoreactivity.
Plasma membrane immunopositivity was confirmed in thyrocytes, salivary ductal, gastric mucosa, and lactating
mammary cells. In other tissues, immunoreactivity was predominantly intracellular, particularly in malignant
lesions. Thus, NIS is present in many normal epithelial tissues and is predominantly expressed intracellularly in
many carcinomas. Elucidating the regulatory mechanisms that render NIS functional in extrathyroidal carcinomas
may make (131)I therapy feasible.

Selective Targeting of Breast Cancer with Radioiodide
Wapnir I
Research Award -- 2001-2004.  $315,200

Final Report (2004) Background: Initial studies pioneered by our group identified an iodide-carrier protein, called
NIS (sodium/iodide symporter), in milk-producing breast cells and in approximately 70% of human breast
cancers. Iodide transport has been primarily linked to the thyroid gland where it is integrated into the production
of thyroid hormones. Radioiodides can be used to visualize iodide-transporting tissues or to destroy them with a
radioactive form of iodide (131I). Discovering the presence of the same protein in breast tissues generated great
enthusiasm, because of the possibility of translating the success of 131I therapy in thyroid cancer to breast
cancer. The likelihood that NIS could be used to selectively target and destroy breast cancer cells without
targeting the thyroid was enhanced by our observations that lactation-associated hormones (estrogen, prolactin
and oxytocin) governed NIS production and activity in the non-pregnant breast cell. In contrast, thyroid NIS is
regulated by thyroid stimulating hormone and iodide accumulation can be blocked with thyroid hormones.

Future direction and impact: These experiments allowed us to establish an experimental platform (animal
model) prior to more clinically-directed studies. We gained important insights into understanding what factors are
likely to influence NIS production and activity in breast cancer. Our results are “proof of principle” that the iodide-
carrier NIS protein can be exploited for the selective targeting and destruction of breast cancers. In summary, we
believe that it will be possible to harness the iodide-concentrating capacity of NIS positive breast cancers for an
innovative therapeutic approach. Furthermore, it may also be possible to either modulate or activate this
mechanism in breast cancer cells that lack NIS. Because of prior clinical work in treating thyroid cancers,
radioactive iodide could be, (i) less toxic, (ii) individually tailored, and (iii) easy to administer to breast cancer
patients. It could provide many women with an alternative strategy to combat this deadly disease.


WEST
Cancer: Scans and Imaging Tests  (no link available for this article)
West B
Health Alert, November 2006, 23:11, pp5-6

The highlight of the latest cancer news can be summed up in one sentence: Cancers that will not kill you (that is,
staying dormant for life or regressing) are very prevalent.  And if found in a medical screening, they will almost
always be treated aggressively.  Today we have highly improved imaging techniques to find cancers.  The
problem is that many things found in these tests that could be cancer are not.  And many, if not most, of the
lesions that "could be cancer" are inconsequential.  Unfortunately, we have no test that can accurately determine
which small fraction of these lesions actually merits aggressive treatment.  The sad, dangerous, and often
maiming result? Lots of unnecessary aggressive treatment.

In addition, there is the significant problem of false positives.  These are "cancers" detected by imaging or other
screening tests that are actually not cancer.  According to the British Medical Journal (1/17/04), there are five false
cancer diagnoses in healthy women for every one woman whose life is prolonged by early mammogram
diagnosis.

In fact there are huge numbers of "lesions" or suspected cancers found on mammograms and other imaging
scans.  Certainly many of these are clearly cancer.  But most of these would never even have become life
threatening or symptomatic had they gone undetected and untreated.

The perfect example of this is sited in a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article entitled
"Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in the US, 1973-2005."  Thee statistics show that thyroid cancer
increased by 300% during this period, while deaths from thyroid cancer remained the same--rare, at less than
1,500 deaths annually.

New ultrasound diagnoses of thyroid nodules shows that they are very prevalent.  Autopsies have found thyroid
cancer in 36% of all thyroid glands.  And when examining extremely think slices of thyroid during an autopsy,
many more tiny cancers were found.  The conclusion is that when sliced thinly enough virtually everyone has
cancer somewhere in their thyroid gland! Yet the death rate remains extremely low--estimated at 1,460 in 2006.

What Does This All Mean?
It means that imaging tests are getting better and better, and people are having more and more scans.  
Unfortunately you will have to be responsible for your own safety when it comes to aggressive and potentially
deadly treatments.  And many of these treatments will be for cancers that will stay dormant for life or regress, or
for "cancers" that are not truly cancers at all.  Keeping yourself safe from unnecessary procedures following
scans or imaging tests is not easy.

Even recently, a breast mass detected through mammography and then discovered by biopsy to be lobular
carcinoma in situ (LCIS) was aggressively treated as cancer with removal of one or both breasts.  It is now known
that LCIS is nothing more than a risk factor for women who may develop breast cancer.  According to the Annals
of Surgical Oncology," LCIS appears to be an incidental finding on biopsy of mammogram abnormalities.

An "incidental finding"?  Rather LCIS was breast cancer and now isn't.  Imagine how women who suffered
through mastectomies feel now that their "breast cancer" is determined to be just an incidental finding.  And LCIS
is characteristic of many other "cancers" found by imaging scans.  If this relates to you, you need to know two
things.

1.  Most lesions and findings detected on imaging tests are either not cancers, or are cancers that are
inconsequential.  In most of these instances, careful monitoring, watchful waiting, and meaningful testing is the
best course of action.

2.  When a true cancer is discovered, it must be completely and thoroughly understood that all cancers are
systemic.  That means that by the time of diagnosis (early or late), microscopic cancer seeds have been
released throughout the body.  Most cancer experts feel that even with "early diagnosis," a cancer has been
present for at least five years.  Cancer must be treated as systemic no matter if the doctor says the cancer is
entirely local, or that they "got it all."  You can survive cancer if your body is strong enough to eradicate the
microscopic cancer cells that want to seed in your bones, liver, brain, lungs, or wherever.

Systemic Protocols for Cancer
This is why every person who gets cancer must be an a cancer protocol for at least two years following surgery or
whatever treatments are used.  While an individualized cancer protocol is best, at the very least you can employ
two-week liver detoxification protocols, followed by a 4- to 6-month antivirus/antiparasite protocol, followed by
another 18 months of an individualized or standard anticancer protocol.

All of these protocols are available in Health Alert.  They basically involve eating raw foods, concentrates, and
extracts that enhance detoxification, virus and parasite eradication, and anticancer functions in the body.  Of
course, all of these things cannot be eaten solely, especially some of the raw ones.  Fortunately, we are able to
consume these phytonutrients and foods in the form of tablets and capsules.

So, in effect, these protocols involve taking many pills and capsules for 2 years or longer.  However, only this type
of procedure provides the very best odds of surviving cancer.  And by that we do not mean an American Cancer
Society 5-year survival time.  Rather, true cancer survival means to die from something other than cancer.

If you need help with these protocols, we can provide you with free flyers.  Just send us a self-addressed,
stamped (with two stamps) envelope and say LIVER DETOX and/or VIRUS/PARASITES.  This is an excellent
place to start.  And remember to proceed with caution if any kind of "lesion," "spot," "nodule," or any other
abnormality is discovered on scans or imaging tests.

from Health Alert, 100 Wilson Rd., #110, Monterey, CA 93940


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