LCF Blog

Since 2-DG became available in Germany in 2018, The Lampidis Cancer Foundation has been actively collaborating with participating doctors and clinics worldwide on implementing protocols for metronomic (slow-release) delivery of patient grade 2-DG for compassionate use cancer treatment to patients with highly promising preliminary results across different cancer types.

• Patient A, female, 40-50 years, (Spain) – Stage 4, Endometrial Cancer: After intensive treatment where metronomic 2-DG was included, reduction of tumor markers from 240 to 80 and destruction of at least half of the 14 lung nodules were reported.
• Patient B, femaie, 50 years, (Romania) – Stage 3, Ovarian Cancer: Advanced cancer with no treatment before beginning M2-DG. Accepted 10 X lower than normal chemotherapy (cisplatin + paclitaxel) with M2-DG and metformin. In complete remission.
• Patient C, femaie, Glioblastoma (Spain): Patient’s condition has improved since using a combination of M2-DG + Salinomycin. The tumor is stable and showing signs of regression.

These remarkable, albeit anecdotal results are based on Dr Lampidis’ groundbreaking research using a false sugar (2-deoxy-D-glucose or 2-DG) to literally starve the treatment-resistant, slow replicating cancer cells found at the core of all tumors, which require glucose to survive in a non-oxygen (hypoxic) environment. In vivo and in vitro studies successfully demonstrated that 2-DG is able to kill the most resistant cancer cell populations found within every solid tumor, which led to the successful completion of a FDA-approved Phase 1 clinical trial. Subsequent experiments in the lab demonstrated that using a metronomic (slow-release) pump to deliver 2-DG at continual, low level doses avoids both an insulin response and liver absorption whilst increasing efficacy of significant tumor volume control. Although the preliminary clinical data from current human use studies is still at an anecdotal stage, it is encouraging to know that several patients receiving metronomic 2-DG treatment via pump through a central venous catheter (PICC line) are reporting excellent tolerance as well as a reduction in the size and/or elimination of their respective tumor types.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: We are currently lobbying the FDA to gain approval for metronomic 2-DG treatment to be administered in the US under the Right to Try Act.

If you are an oncologist or integrative medicine physician interested in using this treatment protocol on your patients, contact us here.

If you are a cancer patient or caregiver interested in learning more about this treatment protocol, contact us here.

 If you are interested in supporting our mission to deliver a low cost, non-toxic cancer treatment to millions of patients worldwide, donate here.

Combining non-toxic glycolytic inhibitors with non-toxic antibiotics 

Although it has long been known that the anti-oxidant properties of vitamin C may be linked to its purported anti-cancer properties, more recently the blockage of glucose uptake by vitamin C appears to be another important anti-cancer property of this widely used and non-toxic agent.

Importantly, in this recent report published in Oncotarget, the investigators show that combining vitamin C with the widely used antibiotic, doxycycline, which affects mitochondrial function, yields potent toxic effects across a broad range of tumor types.

We have previously shown similar wide-reaching anti-cancer activity with the glycolytic inhibitor, 2-DG, when used in cancer cells that have their mitochondrial function compromised either by exposure to low oxygen (hypoxia), or when co-treated with a mitochondrial agent, or when harboring a genetic defect in their mitochondrial DNA.

Interestingly, in this latest report, the authors suggest vitamin C to be more potent than 2-DG when combined with doxycycline. It would appear, however, if this strategy is applied to humans, then the benefits of the known selective uptake of 2-DG in cancer versus normal surrounding tissue (supported by the results of millions of PET scans) would make 2-DG a more cancer-specific agent to combine with doxycycline than vitamin C.

Overall, this recent publication further supports the continued development and investigation of combinations and strategies aimed at how to best use 2-DG to exploit increased glucose uptake and metabolism, which is a universal trait of cancer.

Our groundbreaking cancer research relies largely on philanthropy to keep moving forward. Please consider donating to our cause. Our goal is to raise $300,000/year to conduct the necessary research to bring our 2-DG treatment protocol through the relevant clinical trials in order to make it available to patients worldwide. We would appreciate your help by donating using the link above.

As reported in September, the Lampidis Cancer Foundation, along with the MCS Foundation for Life, has been actively collaborating with clinics worldwide on implementing protocols using 2-DG for patients who have failed standard treatment. The following patient updates have been received as of the end of January.

• Patient A, male, 25 years, Ewing Sarcoma (grade 3): Prior to and after surgery and radiation therapy, metronomic 2-DG was administered, and there has been no sign or evidence of recurrence. It has been applied with other metabolic treatments and oncothermia.

• Patient B, female, Ovarian Cancer (stage 4 with spleen and liver metastasis, and ascites): Metronomic 2-DG was administered after each session of low-dose chemotherapy (IPT) for 2 months. After treatment, there has been no sign or evidence of recurrence.

• Patient C, male, Maxillary Carcinoma (stage 4, multiple metastasis including the brain, liver, bones, eye): This patient could not maintain chemo (Capecitabine and Irinotecan) due to the side-effects and continuous growth of tumors. After administering metronomic 2-DG, he is improving while some tumors are shrinking, including those in the eye.

One of the physicians reporting on the first two patients commented: “Although I am currently unable to quantify the actual contribution of 2-DG to these results, I am convinced it is having a positive impact. Furthermore, these results are highly unusual, as inoperable pancreatic cancer and grade 3 sarcomas are extremely aggressive.”

Since these stage 3 and  4 patients are concurrently receiving other treatments in addition to 2-DG, the data must be considered anecdotal. Nevertheless, as this is the first time patients have been treated with our laboratory-tested delivery method, it is very encouraging to know that excellent tolerance as well as reductions in the size of their respective tumor types and markers is being reported.

We will continue to report on patient outcomes from around the world as we receive them.

Our academic research relies largely on philanthropy to keep moving forward. Please consider donating to our cause. Our goal is to raise $300,000/year to provide the necessary research to bring this treatment protocol through the relevant clinical trials in order to make it available to patients worldwide. We would appreciate your help by donating using the link above.

An article published in the British journal Nature last week reports the anti-cancer activity of the naturally found sugar mannose. Mannose is identical to glucose except for a slight modification on what is known as the #2 carbon of the molecule. The authors go on to state that they found that the level of a certain enzyme called mannose-6-phosphosphate isomerase seems to correlate with the sensitivity of tumors to mannose. The lower the amount of this enzyme the more sensitive the cancers are to mannose. Since this enzyme readily converts mannose to glucose and mannose uses the same transport system as glucose to get into the cell, it appears that when the enzyme is low not enough mannose can be converted to glucose and the cell is effectively starved of its vital energy source. Thus the two-pronged attack of mannose on cancer cells is (1) competing with glucose to get into the cell which reduces glucose levels in the cell ; and (2) in cells with low levels of the converting enzyme, the mannose that gets into the cell cannot be converted to glucose for use as an energy source or as a building block.

Interestingly, the sugar 2-deoxy-D-glucose better known as 2-DG that we and others have been developing as an anti-cancer agent mimics both glucose and mannose based on its unique alteration on the #2 carbon of glucose. The cancer cell cannot figure out whether 2-DG is mimicking glucose or mannose and we have also found that 2-DG kills certain tumor cells most likely by a similar mechanism of starving the cell of glucose. By mimicking both sugars simultaneously, 2-DG has the advantage of both blocking the glucose pathway as well as the mannose pathway and therefore should be effective even in tumors that have high amounts of the enzyme mannose-6-phosphate isomerase.

Overall, this article adds to the overwhelming evidence of the critical role that both mannose and glucose play in the survival of cancer cells and the importance of understanding the mechanisms governing their use for exploiting this universal Achilles heel of cancer: glucose metabolism.

Our research relies largely on philanthropy to keep moving forward. Please consider donating to our cause. Our goal is to raise $300,000/year to provide the necessary research to bring this treatment protocol through the relevant clinical trials in order to make it available to patients worldwide. We would appreciate your help by donating using the link above.