How Mitochondrial Restoration is Essential for Cancer Treatment

Cancer diagnosis has gradually become a worrying threat to patients all over the globe with the number of those diagnosed with the killer disease increasing every decade. Statistics in countries such as the US, India, and Canada which have unsuccessfully devoted a lot of resources in researching for the ultimate cancer cure show that millions of people are diagnosed with cancer every year despite the massive technological advancements.

Cancer has by and by grown into a global epidemic of overwhelming proportions with the statistics in the early 1900s showing that one in 20 people developed cancer, ‘40s one in 16 people developed cancer, in the 1970s the number was one in 10 while today it is one in three!

The overall death rates are falling in spite of the alarming rates of cancer incidences as a result of the so called 40-year ‘war on cancer’. Awareness creation on cancer has been farce. A deeper understanding on the same has been achieved that comprehensively have reduced its mortality cases worldwide.

Increased medical research on cancer in the recent decades have revealed how mitochondria play a central role in the propagation of the disease given the necessary conditions. As such, mitochondria have become key organelles involved by researchers and therapists in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis.

Researchers have given priority to the relationship between mitochondria, Reactive Oxygen Species signaling and activation of survival pathways under hypoxic conditions as the core subject of increased study. There is speculation that insights into the mechanisms involved in ROS signaling may offer ways of facilitating discovery specific cancer therapies.

These studies have noted that chemicals, viruses and various radiations are responsible for inducing mutations in genes encoding cancer causing proteins which in turn give rise to the disease.

A number of interrelated processes are involved in the formation of cancer in this manner, in which mitochondria, the ‘cellular power plants’ involved in cellular differentiation, signaling, cell death as well as the control of cell growth and cycle; play a central role.

The condition where parts of the body are deprived of oxygen (hypoxia) as well as stressful conditions of nutrient deprivation especially lack of glucose have been identified to promote the process of malignant transformation when a low percentage of cells maneuver and overcome cellular senescence through certain mutations.

Studies have identified cellular stress in the form of hypoxic as well as glycemic conditions as two of the major triggering events for cancer. Oncoproteins, or proteins encoded by oncogenes which have the potential to cause the transformation of a cell into a tumor cell if introduced into it, usually reinforce the process of cancer formation by altering gene expression to bring about a common set of changes in mitochondrial function and activity in cancer cells.

The cancer cells follow a program that do not conform to the normal cell behavior. The cell proliferation that is not regulated leads to formation of cellular masses that extend beyond the resting vasculature and this results in oxygen and nutrient deprivation.

The resulting condition of hypoxia then triggers a number of critical adaptations that enable cancer cells to survive. In this condition the process of apoptosis is suppressed and the glucose metabolism is altered.

Hypoxia causes elevation in mitochondrial production of chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen known as reactive oxygen species or ROS.

Scientific investigations over the recent decades suggest that oxygen depletion thus stimulates mitochondria to compensate increased reactive oxygen species (ROS).  This activates signaling pathways that promotes cancer cells survival and the growth of the tumor in a condition where the cells that escape senescent elimination emerge with oncogenic mutations and become immortalized tumors.

In this regard, studies have established that directing attention to the mitochondrial dysfunction responsible for the particular cancerous condition would be a lot effective in treating cancer. These mitochondrial disorders may be caused by mutations as already mentioned or acquired or inherited in the mitochondrial DNA as well as in nuclear genes that provide coding for mitochondrial components.

An understanding of the exact nature of the disorder in question is a key prerequisite to establishing an accurate therapeutic approach to the particular mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequent treatment to cancer resulting from the same.

Scientists suggest the ATP Profile as the recommended test in diagnosing a number of the mitochondrial disorders, though research into this test is still underway to establish it as fully workable. It involves blood assessment at several levels which include the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the primary form of energy in the body and generated by the mitochondria.

The intermediate form of energy in the body also found in the blood, Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) is also included in the test. This is used by mitochondria to make ATP. Studies have shown that the more severe the dysfunction the more severe the symptoms. With the results from the diagnosis, a number of supplements can be used to remedy the disorder with specific recommendations from the doctor. A common example that various doctors recommend is riboflavin or vitamin B2 for correcting mitochondrial problems. This should be accompanied with physical therapy that help improve range of motion and dexterity.

How Mitochondrial Restoration is Essential for Cancer Treatment

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