School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations

Do you know where your patient's cannabis comes from? Dramatic Response to Integrative Treatment in Patient with stage IV Colon Cancer

Document Type

Poster

Status

Medical Student

Abstract Category

Cancer/Oncology

Keywords

medical cannabis, IV vitamin C, colorectal cancer, integrative oncology

Publication Date

Spring 2018

Abstract

We present a 60 year old male with past medical history of hypercholesterolemia and nephrolithiasis, diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the colon. The patient underwent routine surgical pathology exam and was found to have a primary tumor of 6.5 cm in the cecum (histologic grade: low, moderately differentiated) with extension into the serosal surface, greater than 6 positive regional nodes, and distant metastasis to the omentum. At that point the patient was given 3-6 months prognosis due to advanced metastatic colon cancer.

He initially presented to our clinic nine days status post partial right colon resection to discuss adjuvant chemotherapy vs. radiation vs. IV Vitamin C vs. IV Mistletoe. He was started on a low glycemic load, near ketogenic diet. In addition, he was started on methylated multivitamin, fish oil, OmegaAvail,N-Acetyl-Cysteine/Milk Thistle combination, probiotics and, and low-dose Naltrexone (LDN). He received 6 cycles of standard chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and weekly IV Vitamin C.

Patient also decided to seek out Medical Cannabis. While he was recommended to proceed through Washington DC legal route he opted out to obtain cannabis from another state due to lower cost and faster timing (average time from placing of recommendation to being able to obtain medical cannabis in DC is over 4 weeks).

Subsequently, the patient underwent exploratory laparotomy, during which minimal residual cancer was detected (1 mm microscopic focus at right colon resection site, 2 mm focus on greater omentum) and Biocept liquid biopsy tests were negative for circulating tumor cells (CTCs; defined as CD45-, DAPI+, CK+ or CK- cell).

This case represents an unusual response to a combination of chemotherapy and integrative approaches. Such "miracle cancer cures" are occasionally seen in integrative medicine practices and often generate lots of hype among cancer patient communities. Unfortunately, a clear understanding of how this result was achieved in this patient is not possible due to complex regimen.

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Do you know where your patient's cannabis comes from? Dramatic Response to Integrative Treatment in Patient with stage IV Colon Cancer

We present a 60 year old male with past medical history of hypercholesterolemia and nephrolithiasis, diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the colon. The patient underwent routine surgical pathology exam and was found to have a primary tumor of 6.5 cm in the cecum (histologic grade: low, moderately differentiated) with extension into the serosal surface, greater than 6 positive regional nodes, and distant metastasis to the omentum. At that point the patient was given 3-6 months prognosis due to advanced metastatic colon cancer.

He initially presented to our clinic nine days status post partial right colon resection to discuss adjuvant chemotherapy vs. radiation vs. IV Vitamin C vs. IV Mistletoe. He was started on a low glycemic load, near ketogenic diet. In addition, he was started on methylated multivitamin, fish oil, OmegaAvail,N-Acetyl-Cysteine/Milk Thistle combination, probiotics and, and low-dose Naltrexone (LDN). He received 6 cycles of standard chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and weekly IV Vitamin C.

Patient also decided to seek out Medical Cannabis. While he was recommended to proceed through Washington DC legal route he opted out to obtain cannabis from another state due to lower cost and faster timing (average time from placing of recommendation to being able to obtain medical cannabis in DC is over 4 weeks).

Subsequently, the patient underwent exploratory laparotomy, during which minimal residual cancer was detected (1 mm microscopic focus at right colon resection site, 2 mm focus on greater omentum) and Biocept liquid biopsy tests were negative for circulating tumor cells (CTCs; defined as CD45-, DAPI+, CK+ or CK- cell).

This case represents an unusual response to a combination of chemotherapy and integrative approaches. Such "miracle cancer cures" are occasionally seen in integrative medicine practices and often generate lots of hype among cancer patient communities. Unfortunately, a clear understanding of how this result was achieved in this patient is not possible due to complex regimen.