Iodine (and Iodide) Versus Cancer?

Years ago, when applying Dr. John Myers very effective iodine therapy for fibrocystic breast disease (see Nutrition and Healing for July 1995) some of the women had 24-hour urine tests for estrone, estradiol, and estriol. To my surprise, in the majority of these women the quantity of estriol greatly increased, and the total quantity of estrone and estradiol (combined) decreased following the iodine treatment.

Since estradiol and estrone can metabolize to estriol only through 16a-hydroxyestrone theoretically it appears that iodine somehow greatly stimulated this pathway. Also theoretically, this may mean that iodine helps to "drain away" 16a-hydroxyestrone ("bad estrogen") by helping to turn it into estriol.

At the time, it was not possible to check this theory, but it can now easily be done with a combination of the tests reviewed here (see Medical Tests to Assess Sex-Hormone-Related Cancer Risk).

"Lugol's solution", a combination of iodine and potassium iodide, was used in the "Myers treatment" noted above. As large amounts of iodine or iodide can possibly affect the thyroid adversely, it's best to work with a physician if using this material or other relatively high-dose iodine and/or iodide preparations.

A historical note: Max Gerson, M.D., the famous diet and cancer cure physician of the early and mid 1900s, maintained that iodine was a major tool in cancer treatment.

DHEA, Progesterone, and Vitex (Chasteberry) Versus Cancer

For pre-menopausal women, it seems very possible that bringing low levels of DHEA up to normal will cut breast cancer risk. At present, supplementation of DHEA itself appears to be the best way to do this. For women after menopause, I often recommend improvement of DHEA levels by supplementation to help in prevention of cancer in general as well as for improvement in immune system function.

The herb Vitex agnus castus (chasteberry) can improve progesterone levels for some pre-menopausal women. For others, as well as for women after the menopause, supplementation of progesterone is needed.

For Men: Chrysin Versus Cancer?

For men, the flavonoid chrysin (isolated from a species of Passion Flower) may also aid in cutting cancer risk. Men metabolize testosterone directly to estradiol; chrysin inhibits this transformation. (Naringenin, another flavonoid, also inhibits this transformation but not quite as strongly as chrysin). If we subscribe to the testosterone-to-estrogen theory for prostate cancer, then it seems logical that anything which slows this transformation down would also cut cancer risk.

Unfortunately, there are no studies of chrysin and cancer prevention yet available. If chrysin can be shown to favorably alter before and after testosterone-to-estrogen-ratio tests for men, then (again theoretically) the risk of cancer should be lessened. However, as noted above, it may also be additionally useful to promote a favorable 2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratio (with cabbages, broccoli, or supplemental di-indolylmethane) in whatever estrogen remains to further lower men's prostate cancer risk.

Lycopene Versus Prostate Cancer

Lycopene is not known at present to alter sex-hormone-related metabolites, but it's included here for sake of completeness. In a comprehensive review10,11 Dr. E. Giannuci writes: "Among 72 studies identified, 57 reported inverse associations between tomato intake or blood lycopene level and the risk of cancer….35 of these inverse associations were statistically significant…..The evidence of benefit was strongest for cancers of the prostate, lung, and stomach. Data were also suggestive of benefit for cancers of the pancreas, colon and rectum, esophagus, oral cavity, breast, and cervix." However, he cautions that a cause-effect relationship cannot be definitively established.

In one well-publicized recent study, men scheduled for prostate cancer surgery were asked to use either lycopene or placebo for approximately 30 days. At surgery, the cancers of the men in the lycopene group appeared to have regressed, while the cancers of those taking the placebo continued to grow. As yet, no follow-up has been reported. In Summary Definitive answers in the area of sex-hormone-related cancers, sex-hormone metabolites, testing for sex-hormone metabolites, and alteration of sex-hormone metabolism with diet and supplements are not yet available. However, as is often said in clinical preventive medicine, by the time definitive answers are available, many of us will no longer be living, so we must proceed on the best available evidence, knowledge of individual circumstances, and clinical judgement. It now appears that both enough evidence and enough tools are available for us to rationally undertake further steps in the prevention of sex-hormone-related cancers. 

This article was adapted for reprint with permission.
Copyright ® 2000 Agora South, LLC.
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