Is Phosphorus the "Key" of cancer?

Bobko et al. reported a very interesting article concerning the impact of interstitial inorganic phosphate (Pi) on tumor progression. Previous studies have shown that blood levels of Pi might be related with either the presence or growth of cancer in the human body. Heroin-addicted persons have normal values of Pi, while the incidence of cancer in these individuals seems to be very low. The question rises: Is Pi the key of cancer? Further studies are definitely needed, focusing on the correlation between inorganic Pi and cancer.

What is the connection between serum phosphorus, cancer and heroin? A medical hypothesis based on observational studies.

Considering the results of a previous study in which 2321 regular heroin addicts who died without having stopped taking the drug since they had started - from various causes but none from cancer, may mean something. Our first thought was: Can't we hypothesize, reinforcing our previous view that heroin is a "barrier" against cancer and as the user gets in the methadone program he/she lacks the "barrier" and therefore is liable to develop cancer? We have already reported that the amount of blood phosphorus in heroin addicted is significantly lower than in healthy ones. Additionally we have introduced the potential clinical impact of serum phosphorus as a screening test for cancer. Phosphorus regulated by heroin might be the key for preventing the development of cancer in human organism, in terms of keeping the phosphorus in normal levels in the blood. Cases of cancer patients after methadone detox treatment are reported. In the present study, in 200 cancer patients who underwent radical radiotherapy (RT), the phosphorus level is generally returning to normal levels three months postirradiation. Phosphorus and cancer seem to be significantly associated, with heroin adapting phosphorus in normal values. The pharmaceutical companies should look deep inside the molecule of heroin, by means of an analogue with the potential impact against cancer but without the addictive effect to humans. It's obvious that further research is needed to obtain reliable statistical data.

Hypothesis: Is heroin a 'barrier' against cancer? A retrospective analysis of heroin-addicted individuals untreated for opioid dependence between 2001-2010.

PURPOSE: The findings of previous studies attracted our interest in searching and defining the percentage of deaths from cancer in 'heroin regular addicts' i.e. those who had never stopped taking the drug since they started. METHODS: The archives of the Greek Reitox Focal Point of the years 2001 to 2010 were retrospectively searched, focusing on the number of deaths from cancer of the regular heroin addicts. RESULTS: The records from 2,321 regular heroin addicts showed that none of them died from cancer. It seems that heroin might act as a "barrier" against cancer. CONCLUSION: Further studies are needed to confirm our results and to explore the potential cause for this surprising finding.

The Amount of Phosphorus in the Blood of Heroin Abusers Compared to that of Healthy Subjects.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current retrospective study was to assess any difference in terms of serum phosphate (P) between heroin addicts and healthy subjects. METHODS: Between 2011 and 2012, under the authority of the Greek Organization Against Drugs (OKANA), 30 regular heroin addicts, 22 males and 8 females (Group A) participated at the study. Between 2010 and 2011, 30 healthy individuals, 22 males and 8 females (Group B), presented on an outpatient basis for either fatigue or common flu symptoms without fever at the 424 Military Hospital of Thessaloniki. RESULTS: No significant difference between group A and B, in terms of either age (p = 0.454, Mann-Whitney test) or male/female ratio (p = 0.573, Chi2 test), suggesting a homogeneity for the population of individuals participating in the study. The mean values of serum-P in group A and B were 3.47 ± 0.65 and 3.35 ± 0.58, respectively (p = 0.45, Mann Whitney test). CONCLUSIONS: The absence of statistical difference of serum-P between heroin addicts and healthy subjects as shown in our results should be confirmed in further studies.

Is there any potential clinical impact of serum phosphorus and magnesium in patients with lung cancer at first diagnosis? A multi-institutional study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to determine whether the expression of baseline phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) levels were prognostic in terms of stage and overall survival (OS) in newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospectively, 130 patients were selected at the time of diagnosis oflung cancer (100 with NSCLC and 30 with SCLC), before the initialization of any chemo-radiotherapy. The median age was 67 (range 29-92). IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB and IV stages were present in 3, 4, 19, 6, 25, 8, and 65 patients, respectively. After centrifugation, the levels of serum P and Mg were measured using the nephelometric method/ photometry and evaluated before any type of treatment. RESULTS: Higher than normal levels of P were found in 127/130 patients, while only four patients had elevated Mg serum values. In terms of Spearman test, higher P serum values correlated with either stage (rho=- 0.334, p<0.001) or OS (rho=-0.212, p=0.016). Additionally, a significant negative correlation of Mg serum levels was found with stage of disease (rho=-0.135, P=0.042). On multivariate cox-regression survival analysis, only stage (p<0.01), performance status (p<0.01) and P serum (p=0.045) showed a significant prognostic value. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that pre-treatment P serum levels in lung cancer patients are higher than the normal range. Moreover, P and Mg serum levels are predictive of stage of disease. Along with stage and performance status, the P serum levels had also a significant impact on survival. This information may be important for stratifying patients to specific treatment protocols or intensifying their therapies. However, larger series are now needed to confirm our results.