Unproven cancer treatment preys on hope
Q. The father of a close friend has bladder cancer, and he has been downing a daily dose of a product called Poly-MVA. There is concern in the family, and I told her I would check with my sources. I have not been able to find much on this. You often write about dietary supplements, and I was wondering whether you have run across this and what you suggest.
S.C., via e-mail
A. Poly MVA, also known as Polydox, is a liquid dietary supplement made up of minerals, vitamins and amino acids. It features a complex of lipoic acid with the element palladium and is promoted as a nontoxic cancer therapy.
A search of the National Library of Medicine (pubmed.com) failed to turn up any published human studies, case reports or animal studies affirming any beneficial effect of Poly-MVA on any type of cancer. The American Cancer Society has a review (tinyurl.com/3hbxhs), and there is also a review at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (tinyurl.com/6zrtj9). Neither organization endorses the product.
Positive information I found is mostly theoretical, coming from Web pages, often where the product is offered for sale. The product holds a patent, but having a patent doesn't mean that something works. It is quite telling that the patent was applied for in 1993, and studies have yet to appear in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. There is always talk of conspiracies against natural cancer remedies, but if this stuff worked, science would have been all over it by now.
It is a dire situation to have cancer and not know what to do. All people want is to get better.
Our immune system is charged with the task of recognizing and destroying cellular abnormalities before they have a chance to grow and turn into cancer. Abnormal cell growth that turns into cancer has found a way to confound the body's natural defenses. The cancer grows faster than other cells. Traditional therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, focus on killing the fastest-growing cells (the cancer), while sparing the host (us). We need to stay as strong as possible during treatments, and once they are done, the focus shifts to rebuilding health to prevent a recurrence. I am not a medical doctor, and I cannot - and should not - decide for others, but this all makes sense to me.
A nutritional therapy that strengthens the body to fight the cancer is an attractive concept. Good intentions, however, are not enough. It is essential to have scientific validation and independent verification by those having no connection with the sale of the product. Sales pitches for questionable remedies are often designed to quench the flames of natural skepticism. They get you to stop asking "why?" in favor of "why not?" When this happens, the sale has been made.
I hope your friend's father has not rejected proven treatments. The risk in these cases is that the cancer will spread to a less treatable state. Arguments get posed that going off the product is what caused the downturn. If you stay on the product and the cancer still spreads, the spin is that the product wasn't started early enough.
There is no single answer that works for everyone and all types of cancer. Please encourage your friends to read all they can, giving special heed to documented science, and discuss it with their family, their oncologist and others they trust.
• Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutrition scientist and the author of "Power Nutrition." Send questions to: "On Nutrition," Ed Blonz, c/o Newspaper Enterprise Association, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 or ed@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.