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How cancer starts
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Cancer of the liver
(Click here for National Foundation for Cancer Research) Liver cancer prevention & treatment The liver is the largest organ inside the body, located on the right side of the abdomen under the rib cage. It performs many important functions, such as storing and breaking down nutrients that can be used by the body, and filtering and storing blood. A person cannot survive without his or her liver. In the United States, approximately 15,300 people (10,000 men and 5,300 women) are diagnosed with liver cancer each year. About 13,800 people (8,500 men and 5,300 women) die from the disease. As the statistics indicate, liver cancer is more common among men than women. But, overall, the cancer is relatively rare in North America and Europe. By contrast, in certain African and East Asian countries, it is the most common of all types of cancer. For reasons as yet unknown, it is becoming even more common in these countries and less common in the U.S. and Europe. Despite the fact that the liver continually processes all the blood in the body as well as receiving substances directly from the intestine, thus being more exposed to carcinogens and toxins than any other tissue, and despite the fact that liver cells are capable of replicating faster than any others, primary cancer rarely occurs there. However, secondary cancer of the liver is common. Primary cancer of the liver may occur when cirrhosis exists and the liver tissue is attempting to restore itself. Heavy drinkers and smokers are very susceptible. As is well known, natives of undeveloped countries, who eat more natural food, escape most of the degenerative diseases of civilization. However, among some of these people primary cancer of the liver occurs frequently, and this is directly attributable to the potent carcinogen, aflatoxin, which like the carcinogens used to quickly cause cancer in animal experiments, is powerful enough to do so in the healthy livers of humans. The incidence of liver cancer among natives in Johannesburg is 27 times that of the USA, and in Mozambique is 270 times greater. The 20% rate of primary cancer of the liver among the Bantu population was attributed primarily to their poverty-restricted diet of corn and corn mush, cooked in iron pots. Aflatoxin is an excretion of a mould which can penetrate the shells of peanuts and poison them, and is also sometimes found in rice. Aflatoxin increases greatly in rice which has been cooked and kept for later use. Brazil nuts contain aflatoxin and their importation into Austria has been banned. Peanuts are the worst. In England in 1960, 100,000 turkeys all died of liver cancer when fed mouldy peanut meal. In the tests that followed, calves given aflatoxin, one part in half a million in their food, all got liver cancer in three weeks and all died in 16 weeks. Steers given one part in three million got liver cancer in 16 weeks. Tests on ducks and trout in even weaker concentrations had the same results. With rats, one part in 70 million killed them all with liver cancer in 6-8 weeks. 11.28.01 Chlorophyllin Reduces Aflatoxin Indicators Among People At Risk For Liver CancerA study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that taking chlorophyllin greatly reduces the levels of aflatoxin-DNA damage byproducts in the body, which are indicators of exposure to carcinogenic aflatoxins and increased risk of liver cancer. Chlorophyllin is a derivative of chlorophyll and is used as an over-the-counter diet supplement and as a food colorant. The results appear in the November 27, 2001 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Our study shows that taking chlorophyllin three times a day reduced the amounts of aflatoxin-DNA damage by 55 percent, compared with taking a placebo,” says Thomas Kensler, PhD, professor of environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Taking chlorophyllin or eating green vegetables, like spinach, that are rich in chlorophyll may be a practical way of reducing the risk of liver cancer and other cancers caused by environmental triggers,” explains Dr. Kensler. Dr. Kensler and his colleagues conducted a double-blind study among residents of Qidong, China. The people of the region have an extraordinarily high rate of liver cancer, which is due in part from routinely eating foods contaminated with carcinogenic aflatoxins. The aflatoxin is produced by molds found in foods like corn, peanuts, soy sauce, and fermented soybeans. For the study, researchers recruited 180 healthy adults. Half of the group was given 100 mg tablets of chlorophyllin to take three times a day with meals for four months. The other half was given a placebo. Urine and blood samples were taken over four months to determine the effects of chlorophyllin on excretion of aflatoxin-DNA damage products. According to the study’s results, the people who took chlorophyllin showed a 55 percent reduction in aflatoxin-DNA damage, compared to the placebo group. “Studies conducted by our co-author, George Bailey of Oregon State University, have suggested that chlorophyllin acts as an ‘interceptor molecule’ to block the absorption of aflatoxins and carcinogens in the diet,” explains John Groopman, PhD, professor and chairman of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Our study shows that chlorophyllin can effectively reduce aflatoxin levels, which should reduce the risk of liver cancer. Since chlorophyllin is found in many foods or can be easily added to the diet, it could be a safe and effective prevention method. The study adds to the evidence that green vegetables contain effective anticarcinogens,” adds Dr. Groopman.
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