Evaluation of pancreatic proteolytic enzyme treatment of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, with nutrition and detoxification support.

Historically, large doses of proteolytic enzymes, along with diet, nutritional supplements, and "detoxification" procedures, have been used in alternative therapies to treat all forms of cancer, without formal clinical studies to support their use. A 2-year, unblinded, 1-treatment arm, 10-patient, pilot prospective case study was used to assess survival in patients suffering inoperable stage II-IV pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with large doses of orally ingested pancreatic enzymes, nutritional supplements, "detoxification" procedures, and an organic diet. From January 1993 to April 1996 in the authors' private practice, 10 patients with inoperable, biopsy-proven pancreatic adenocarcinoma were entered into the trial. After one patient dropped out, an 11th patient was added to the study (however, all 11 are considered in the data tabulation). Patients followed the treatment at home, under the supervision of the authors. As of 12 January 1999, of 11 patients entered into the study, 9 (81%) survived one year, 5 (45%) survived two years, and at this time, 4 have survived three years. Two patients are alive and doing well: one at three years and the other at four years. These results are far above the 25% survival at one year and 10% survival at two years for all stages of pancreatic adenocarcinoma reported in the National Cancer Data Base from 1995. This pilot study suggests that an aggressive nutritional therapy with large doses of pancreatic enzymes led to significantly increased survival over what would normally be expected for patients with inoperable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Biological value of bone-precipitated dicalcium phosphate in turkey starter diets.

A study was conducted to determine the relative biological value (RBV) of phosphorus from two bone-precipitated dicalcium phosphates (DCP-BP) in turkey starter diets. An estimated 40,000 metric tons of DCP-BP are produced annually in the United States as a by-product of gelatin production. The two DCP-BP sources were compared to commercial feed phosphates. Two bioassay experiments of 21-d duration were conducted with female turkeys. Phosphate sources were each fed at three levels (.18, .24, and .36% added total phosphorus) in a corn-soybean meal diet. Calcium level was maintained constant at 1.0% in all diets by adjusting the level of ground limestone. Four replicate pens of six poults were randomly assigned at 1 d of age to each level of each phosphorus source in each bioassay. The reference standard was United States Pharmacopeia (USP) grade calcium phosphate, dibasic dihydrate. Data representing three response criteria (weight gain, gain:feed ratio, and tibia ash percentage at 21 d) were combined to calculate a biological value (BV) for each test source and the reference standard phosphate. A RBV was then computed for each test source. The RBV of the two DCP-BP sources were 98.8 and 99.1, as compared to 100.0 for the reference standard, and 86.7, 87.1, and 88.4 for three commercial, thermochemically produced defluorinated phosphates. The RBV of one commercial mono-dicalcium phosphate, and three di-monocalcium phosphates were: 96.4, and 91.2, 94.7, and 101.5, respectively. The two DCP-BP sources compared favorably to commercial feed phosphates, and would be satisfactory supplements in diets for starting chicks, poults, pigs, and other species.