By Richard Linchitz, MD
What is IPT?
IPT or Insulin Potentiation Therapy is method of delivering medication using insulin as a biological response modifier. The insulin increases the ability of the medication to enter selected cells. The method was developed over 80 years ago in Mexico by Donato Perez Garcia, Sr., M.D. This method holds great potential for cancer patients because the fundamental nature of cancer cells makes them more susceptible to the effects of insulin.
The "Holy Grail" of oncology has always been the idea of being able to target cancer cells while sparing normal cells. Chemotherapy agents are effective cell killing agents, but are relatively non-selective, accounting for severe and sometimes even fatal side effects.
How can cancer cells be selectively targeted?
One major difference between normal cells and almost all cancer cells is the relative abundance of insulin receptors on cancer cells. Insulin receptors can be thought of as "locked doors" on the surface of cells. Because cancer cells are more metabolically active (they divide more rapidly and have an inefficient anaerobic metabolism, both of which cause them to require more energy) they need a means of obtaining more glucose than normal cells. Insulin receptors provide that means. In the presence of insulin, which is the "key", the locked doors open. Since there can be 10 doors on cancer cells for every single door on normal cells, cancer cells become much more open and permeable in the presence of insulin.
In fact, physicians know very well about this aspect of cancer cell metabolism because we use the principle in the common cancer diagnostic test the PET (positron emission tomography) scan. In the PET scan, the patient is given an injection of radioactively labeled glucose. This substance travels throughout the bloodstream and causes the patient's pancreas to release insulin (this happens any time the blood sugar is raised). The insulin "key" then opens the cancer cell doors preferentially and the radioactive sugar concentrates in the cancer cells. The radioactivity causes the cancer cells to "light up" on the scan.
With insulin potentiation therapy, a small dose of insulin is given to the patient who comes for treatment after having fasted overnight. When the cancer cells are maximally open, a small dose (about 10 percent) of chemotherapy is given. The chemotherapy has a preferential impact on the cancer cells and tends to spare the healthy cells.
Are there any scientific studies which show the effectiveness of IPT?
For over 20 years, there have been studies in laboratories showing that chemotherapy concentrates in cancer cells in the presence of insulin. Some of these studies describe a ten thousand-fold increase in chemotherapy concentration in cancer cells when insulin is added. The increased concentration seems to occur no matter which agents are tested.
The only "in vivo" test (in live human patients) was reported in a study in Uruguay in breast cancer patients. The study showed improved tumor response in previously chemo-resistant patients. In an as yet unpublished Bulgarian study, IPT improved the quality of life of terminal stage IV cancer patients.
So why isn't IPT considered an accepted standard of care therapy?
The "gold standard" studies are large scale, double blind, placebo controlled trials. These studies are very expensive. Often, the only money available for these large studies comes from pharmaceutical companies. Of course, it is very unlikely that any pharmaceutical company will fund a study which might show that only ten percent of its product is needed.
Conventional oncologists would say there is not enough data on IPT and this is unfortunately true. Most of the information available about IPT is from experienced practitioners and satisfied patients. This evidence, however, is dismissed as "anecdotal" by conventional practitioners.
How is IPT used in your medical practice?
It is important to understand that IPT is a tool, not a "magic bullet". IPT is most effective when it is used in a comprehensive program which also focuses on diet, supplements (with both direct anticancer properties, and also immune stimulating properties), exercise (this has been shown to prolong life, improve survival, and improve quality of life in cancer patients), detoxification (removing toxins can help awaken the immune response and improve organ function), and stress management (this can also improve immune function and quality of life). Some medical practices include energy medicine, high dose intravenous Vitamin C, and other IV therapies.
Progress is measured in the same way as conventional oncology. Blood tumor markers are followed, scans are evaluated. Quality of life is emphasized during treatment and because of the gentle nature of IPT, it is usually quite good.
Where can I found out more information about IPT?
The website www.IPTforcancer.com has a wealth of information about IPT, listing scientific references as well as names and addresses of practitioners all around the world. One can also find information about IPT at various alternative cancer treatment sites. I'd caution prospective patients and loved ones that the negative information found on IPT on mainstream sites is misleading and invariably written by people who have never practiced IPT, nor trained in IPT, nor even watched it performed, nor spoken to the many satisfied patients who have been profoundly helped.
About the Author
Dr. Linchitz has dedicated his life to medical health and patient care. After graduating with honors from Cornell University Medical College, he completed his residency at the famed University of California, San Francisco, Moffit Hospital. Moved by the personal stories of those living with chronic pain, Dr. Linchitz founded the first and only outpatient nationally accredited multi-specialty pain program in New York. Over the 22 years he managed the Pain Alleviation Center, he developed an integrated program of pain intervention based on lifestyle changes, rather than pharmaceutical-based solutions. Dr. Linchitz has always lived by his own advice. An accomplished athlete, he lived what he thought was a healthy lifestyle until a diagnosis of lung cancer in 1998 (despite never having smoked) forever changed his life, career and overall perspective on medicine. After receiving a bleak prognosis for survival, he sought to understand his disease from the inside out and to design his own path towards balanced Wellness.
Determined to share the lessons learned from his own recovery, Dr. Linchitz became an expert in integrating conventional and alternative approaches to treat disease. Consequently, he has created a unique program of health based on prevention and natural remedies. Dr. Linchitz is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Pain Medicine, and the American Board of Anti-aging Medicine. He has successfully passed board exams from the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology and the International Board of Oxidative Medicine. He is also trained and certified in Medical Acupuncture and Insulin Potentiation Therapy, an innovative cancer treatment. He is actively involved in many other medical groups. Learn more at his webiste at www.linchitzwellness.com.
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