The Long-Term Survival of a Patient With Stage IV Renal Cell Carcinoma Following an Integrative Treatment Approach Including the Intravenous α-Lipoic Acid/Low-Dose Naltrexone Protocol.

In this case report, we describe the treatment of a 64-year-old male patient diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in June of 2008. In spite of a left nephrectomy and the standard oncological protocols, the patient developed a solitary left lung metastasis that continued to grow. He was informed that given his diagnosis and poor response to conventional therapy, any further treatment would, at best, be palliative. The patient arrived at the Integrative Medical Center of New Mexico in August of 2010. He was in very poor health, weak, and cachectic. An integrative program-developed by one of the authors using intravenous (IV) α-lipoic acid, IV vitamin C, low-dose naltrexone, and hydroxycitrate, and a healthy life style program-was initiated. From August 2010 to August 2015, the patient's RCC with left lung metastasis was followed closely using computed tomography and positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging. His most recent positron emission tomography scan demonstrated no residual increased glucose uptake in his left lung. After only a few treatments of IV α-lipoic acid and IV vitamin C, his symptoms began to improve, and the patient regained his baseline weight. His energy and outlook improved, and he returned to work. The patient had stable disease with disappearance of the signs and symptoms of stage IV RCC, a full 9 years following diagnosis, with a gentle integrative program, which is essentially free of side effects. As of November 2017 the patient feels well and is working at his full-time job.

Sobrevida del carcinoma de células renales: experiencia de 20 años / Survival of renal cell carcinoma

El carcinoma de células renales (CaR) es un tumor relativamente raro que se presenta en un 3 por ciento de las neoplasias malignas del adulto. La nefrectomía radical (NR) sigue siendo el único método efectivo de tratamiento. Nos propusimos ver la sobrevida de los pacientes con CaR sometidos a NR. Se revisaron 170 pacientes sometidos a NR desde noviembre de 1976 a marzo de 1996. Se recuperaron 90 pacientes con CaR, edad promedio de 60,7 años (rango de 34 a 79 años), 53,1 por ciento de hombres y 46,9 por ciento de mujeres, con una mediana de seguimiento de 81 meses. Motivo de consulta principal fue hematuria (44,9 por ciento), dolor 27,5 por ciento, incidental en 22,4 por ciento. Un 57,8 por ciento son tumores renales derechos y 2,1 por ciento bilaterales. La sobrevida global es de 69 por ciento a 5 años y 60 por ciento a 10 años. Según clasificación TNM la sobrevida estadío I fue 83 por ciento (med 88 meses), II 77 por ciento (med 89 meses), III 62 por ciento (med 78 meses), IV 10 por ciento (med 12 meses), estos últimos no sometidos a NR. El carcinoma de células renales en etapas precoces (I y II) tiene un muy buen pronóstico a largo plazo, no así las etapas más avanzadas. Como aún no existen tratamientos eficaces para estos últimos, se enfatiza la importancia de un diagnóstico precoz

The mechanism of local tumor irradiation combined with interleukin 2 therapy in murine renal carcinoma: histological evaluation of pulmonary metastases.

We have demonstrated that tumor irradiation enhanced the therapeutic effect of interleukin 2 (IL-2) on pulmonary metastases from a murine renal adenocarcinoma, Renca. To investigate the mechanism of interaction between tumor irradiation and IL-2 therapy, we have histologically evaluated the effects of each therapy alone or in combination on Renca pulmonary metastases. Following treatment of established lung metastases with irradiation and IL-2 therapy, lung sections were processed for H&E or immunohistochemical staining. We found that tumor irradiation or IL-2 therapy locally induced vascular damage, resulting in multifocal hemorrhages and mononuclear cell mobilization in the lung tissue. This effect was amplified in lungs treated with the combined therapy. Immunohistochemistry showed that irradiation produced a macrophage influx into irradiated tumor nodules, and systemic IL-2 therapy induced T-cell infiltration in tumor nodules. Lungs treated with the combined therapy exhibited massive macrophage, T-cell, and natural killer cell mobilization in disintegrating tumor nodules and in the lung tissue. This combined therapy caused a decrease in the number of proliferating tumor cells and an increase in the number of apoptotic cells, which were more marked than with either therapy alone. We suggest that the macrophages mobilized by radiation-induced tissue injury could play a role in phagocytosis of apoptotic tumor cells, processing and presenting of tumor antigens for a systemic immune response activated by IL-2. Tumor destruction may result from the concomitant action of activated T cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages infiltrating the tumor nodules.

Rigid reconstruction plates for immediate reconstruction following mandibular resection for malignant tumors.

Thirty-four primary alloplastic reconstructions of segmental mandibular defects caused by surgery for oral malignancy were performed during a 6-year period. Eighty-eight percent of the tumors were classified as stage III or IV. One third of the patients died during follow-up, nine with their primary reconstruction plate in place. During the follow-up, 12 patients required plate removal because of complications; four of them were treated with another plate. Nineteen of 21 patients alive at the end of follow-up were free of disease. Ten had their primary plate in place, and four had had a secondary plate installed because of plate fracture or screw loosening. Three patients had their mandible permanently reconstructed with bone. The functional and esthetic results were considered excellent or fair in a majority of the cases. Because the 5-year survival rate for patients with advanced mandibular malignancies is 15% to 20%, extensive, definitive reconstructive procedures during primary surgery are usually not justified.