Dr. Weeks’ Comment: In the perpetual effort to minimize side-effects from chemotherapy while enhancing its potency, we seek potentiating agents. Insulin is one such potentiating agent remarkable in that it pushes cancer cells into their S phase (synthesis) where they are vulnerable to chemotherapy and also in that it makes the cancer cell membrane selectively more permeable to chemotherapy than are regular healthy cell membranes – hence targeted chemotherapy. Now, we find other strategies to enhance the benefits while reducing the toxicities of chemo therapy: fasting is cheap and effective. And there are some medications, all cheap and off -patent which are rising stars: the benefits of Metformin (Glucophage) are well known yet sadly, little used, by oncologists and now Difulfram (Antabuse) a drug which is used to deter alcoholics from drinking is worth asking your oncologist to add to your protocol. Here is a brief list of some promising research about Disulfram from peer-reveiwed literature.
Disulfiram”mediated inhibition of NF”κB activity enhances cytotoxicity of 5”fluorouracil in human colorectal cancer cell lines
activity enhances cytotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil in human colorectal cancer cell lines.
International Journal of Cancer, 104: 504-511. doi: 10.1002/ijc. 10972
Disulfiram, a clinically used anti-alcoholism drug and copper-binding agent, induces apoptotic cell death in breast cancer cultures and xenografts via inhibition of the …
copper and an inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase, is currently being used clinically for the
treatment of alcoholism. Recent studies have suggested that DSF may have antitumor and …
Investigations into the metabolism and mode of action of the colon carcinogens 1, 2”dimethylhydrazine and azoxymethane
(AOM). … A partial summary of our previous work on the metabolism of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and
its inhibition by disulfiram, carbon disulfide and other thiono-sulfur compounds is …
Synergistic and antagonistic combinations of drugs in human prostate cancer cell lines in vitro
cyclosporin A, disulfiram and vinorelbine, but not vinblastine, demonstrated consistent synergy.
Figure 1 illustrates the entire drug interaction in DU 145 prostate cancer cells for the …
The value of proteasome inhibition in cancer: Can the old drug, disulfiram, have a bright new future as a novel proteasome inhibitor?
compounds, efficient against malignancies, which are not, as yet, used clinically. This
strategy is time-consuming and expensive. Recent studies have disclosed a surprising, …
Actually, disulfiram does not exist in the body after consumption. It is quickly metabolized to ditiocarb. And we have already phase II clinical trial of ditiocarb as ajduvant in breast cancer patients. Very hopefull (consider very low dosage in the trial: Dufour et al. Biotherapy 1993). More information: Cvek B. Current Cancer Drug Targets 2011. I will send pdf of both papers (Dufour and Cvek), please contact me: cvekb@seznam.cz