Cancers, even advanced cancers, can sometimes undergo what is called 'spontaneous regression' - i.e., they can simply disappear without trace. This is a phenomenon well known to medical science. In the 1960s, Tilden C. Everson and Warren H. Cole wrote a small book on the topic, Spontaneous Regression of Cancer. Spontaneous regressions are poorly understood and have generally been thought to occur only rarely, but a recent study carried out by a team of researchers led by epidemiologist H. Gilbert Welch, MD, of Dartmouth Medical School, suggests that spontaneous regression may be considerably more common than previously thought.

The study, published this week in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, followed a group of almost 110,000 Norwegian women who underwent periodic mammographic screening for breast cancer over a five-year period between 1992 and 1997, and compared these women with a second, matched group of women who did not undergo regular routine breast cancer screening during the same period. Surprisingly, the women who underwent regular screening had 22 percent more invasive breast cancers than those who did not (Zahl, 2008).

In this closely-reasoned Archives of Internal Medicine paper, Welch and his colleagues suggest that the most plausible explanation for this sizeable discrepancy is that many of the women in the unscreened group probably also had an equivalent number of cancers, but in the absence of screening those cancers went undetected, and therefore untreated. Furthermore, rather than progressing, those cancers may simply have resolved and disappeared over time.

It seems counterintuitive, but up to one fifth of all breast cancers that are detected by mammographic screening may potentially resolve themselves without treatment. "Because the cumulative incidence among controls never reached that of the screened group," the authors wrote, "It appears that some breast cancers detected by repeated mammographic screening would not persist to be detectable by a single mammogram at the end of 6 years. This raises the possibility that the natural course of some screen-detected invasive breast cancers is to spontaneously regress,"

The study's conclusions, published in a journal of the American Medical Association, were considered important enough to be featured in the New York Times. In an interview with Gina Kolata, the Times's medical correspondent, Dr. Welch explained the study's controversial conclusion, that "there are some women who had cancer at one point, and who later don't have that cancer" (Kolata, 2008).

Readers of this newsletter may recall that I have previously discussed the risks and benefits of screening mammography. Indeed, I have published an investigative report on mammography - "Mammography, Biopsy and the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer" (Available by clicking here).

There is considerable evidence to suggest that a significant proportion of the abnormalities detected on mammography may in fact not represent an immediate threat. They may instead represent 'over-diagnosis' - that is, the detection of lesions that, left alone, might never progress to invasive cancer at all.

This week's Archives of Internal Medicine paper takes this possibility one step further. "We believe that there are 'pseudo' cancers in this population [of mammographically screened women] and we suggest that most of these pseudo cancers regress," said Jan Maehlen, MD, professor of pathology at the Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, and one of the study's authors, in an interview with the online medical forum Medscape (Mulcahy, 2008).

To be concluded, with references, next week.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

WHERE TO GO? - CAM RESOURCES BY REGION

The Where To Go? series continues to attract favorable reviews from readers. Already available are Where To Go? - Houston, Where To Go? - Philadelphia, Where To Go? - Chicago and Where To Go? - Boston. These are the first reports in a series on regional availability of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Coming shortly: Where to Go? - Germany. This report will focus on some of the major CAM-oriented clinics in Germany and the innovative treatments they provide. 

For more information, or to purchase any of these reports, please click here.

PHONE CONSULTATIONS

Recently we received the following comment from a phone consultation client:

"This was my second phone call with Dr. Moss and as per the first I found him to be absolutely first class. He is so well informed about what is going on around the globe with regard to alternative and complementary treatments. I found him to be balanced, objective, open and honest, and above all incisive when answering questions. I think that this man could ultimately be responsible for leading me on an informed basis, to a treatment that may save or prolong my life.

 

"In summary, outstandingly good value, an hour with a subject matter expert with a sense of humor well spent. Cancer is an expensive illness. One on one time with Dr. Moss is the best investment I have made. Many thanks again." - R. B. October, 2008

Clients who have purchased a Moss Report can schedule an appointment for a phone consultation by calling 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US) or by submitting a request via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

CANCER DECISIONS© AND CURRENT TOPICS© REPORTS

Reports in our Cancer Decisions© series are designed to provide readers with the detailed information they need in order to make difficult treatment decisions. Currently available are: :

• Radiation and the Treatment of Breast Cancer
• Antioxidants and Cancer Treatment
• Do Antioxidants Interfere with Radiation Treatment for Cancer?
• Overcoming the Adverse Effects of Radiation Therapy
• Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer
• Radiation Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
• Radiation Therapy for Gynecological Cancers

These reports can be purchased and downloaded from our Web site, by clicking here.

OR...Please visit our Web site at www.cancerdecisions.com and click on the blue Radiation Reports button.

For a list of our Current Topics reports on issues of interest in the field of cancer research and treatment please click here.

OR...Please visit our Web site at www.cancerdecisions.com and click on the blue Current Topics button.