SEMINAR ON

SPONTANEOUS REGRESSION
DR.KANAK SONI
FINAL YEAR M.D. (CLINICAL NATUROPATHY)
SDM COLLEGE OF NATUROPATHY & YOGIC SCIENCES
UJJIRE

Spontaneous regression
Spontaneous remission

Spontaneous
healing

spontaneous
regression (SR)

Spontaneous implies without any

apparent cause
Regression is a decrease in the size of
the tumor or in the extent of cancer

Spontaneous
Regression Definition

Dr. Tilden Everson and Dr. Warren Cole in the 1960s,

Defined as the partial or complete disappearance of
a malignant tumor in the absence of treatment or in
the presence of therapy considered inadequate to
exert a significant influence on the disease

The disappearance, complete or incomplete, of a

disease or cancer without medical treatment or
treatment that is considered inadequate to produce
the resulting disappearance of disease symptoms or
tumour.
(Institute of Noetic Science )

 It is an unexpected improvement or
cure from a disease that usually
progresses.
Spontaneous remissions concern
cancers of the haematopoietic
system (blood cancer, e.g.
leukaemia), while spontaneous
regressions concern palpable
tumours.

Mechanisms
proposed for SR :

Mechanisms include:
Immune mediation,
Tumor inhibition by growth factors, Tumor
necrosis,
Cytokines,
Hormonal mediation,
Elimination of a carcinogen,
Apoptosis & Angiogenesis inhibition,

Psychological factors.

Frequency of spontaneous regression in cancer

Frequency was estimated to be about
1 in 100,000 cancers
At least for small tumours the
frequency of spontaneous regression
most likely was drastically underrated.
In a carefully designed study on
mammography it was found that 22%
of all breast cancer cases underwent
spontaneous regression

Fever and spontaneous

regression
A correlation between regression and fever was
noted long ago, but forgotten later on. Rohdenburg
(1918) stated, The greatest number of
spontaneous regressions have occurred following
incomplete surgical removal of the tumour, next in
order of frequency during some acute febrile
processy. Even for the first group he remarks, In
some of the histories of this group it is definitely
stated that immediately after operation a high
temperature developed, which continued without
remission for several days, so he distinguished
infectious and postoperative fever.

Causes
Apoptosis (programmed cell death) or
Angiogenesis (growth of new blood
vessels)
Both mechanisms need
appropriate biochemical triggers
and can not be caused on their
own

 In many cancer cells apoptosis is

defective, angiogenesis is
activated.
Both caused by mutations in
cancer cells; cancer exists
because both mechanisms are
malfunctioning.

 Very few cancers are curable.

However, it is observed that many
cancers disappear spontaneously;
though very rarely. It is generally
regarded as mysterious, although
there are some laboratory studies on
regressing tumours; as well as new
theoretical possibilities about their
mechanisms.

 The spontaneous regression of

cancer is a tantalizing, heartwarming phenomenon, which offers
hope in the face of fearsome disease.
William Osler once said, "
Spontaneous regression of the
cancer is one of the most fascinating
phenomenon observed in medicine".

 Spontaneous tumour regression is reported to

occur in approximately one in every 140,000
cases of cancer.
The mechanisms involved in tumour regression
are complex and interrelated.
Understanding these mechanisms may shed light
on why some tumours regress completely, while
others, such as melanoma, show evidence of
regression in the primary tumour simultaneous
with the occurrence of distant metastasis.

 Spontaneous regression of malignant

neoplasm's is an extremely rare
event. However, it is reported in
virtually all types of human cancer,
although the greatest numbers of
cases are reported in patients with
neuroblastoma, renal cell
carcinoma,malignant melanoma and
lymphomas/leukemias.

IS SPONTANEOUS
REGRESSION IS NEW
CONCEPT???
NO IT IS AN OLD
CONCEPT

HISTORY
Spontaneous regression of cancer is not a rare
occurrence;
SR is a phenomenon that has been observed for
hundreds even thousands of years ago.
Although numerous cases of spontaneous
tumor regression have been published over the
last several hundreds of years.

HISTORY
Virtually all of these reports note regression
concomitant with infections including
Diphtheria, gonorrhea, hepatitis, influenza,
Malaria, measles, smallpox, syphilis,
Tuberculosis as well as various other
pyogenic and non-pyogenic infections.

The phenomenon of spontaneous regression

is also known as St. Peregrine tumor.
Peregrine Laziozi (12651345), a young priest,
was afflicted with cancer of the tibia requiring
amputation of the leg; the lesion grew to a
point where it broke through the skin and
became severely infected. Miraculously, by the
time his operation, physician was astonished to
observe that there were no signs of the tumor.
St. Peregrine's tumor never returned.

HISTORY
Savarrio et al - Neoplasm of the oral cavity of
the subset of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
King et al - Cutaneous melanoma with parotid
and neck lymph node metastases.

Dr. William Coleys

Observation
In 1891, a young bone surgeon at New York
Memorial Hospital began his search for a new
approach to cancer treatment, after the loss of
his very first patient to cancer.
He discovered the record of an immigrant
patient who presented with an egg-size sarcoma
on his left cheek. The sarcoma was operated on
twice and still recurred as a 4.5-inch grape-like
cluster below his left ear. The extensive wound
after surgery could not be closed and skin grafts
were unsuccessful.

 Ironically, this failure to close the wound would

play a key part in the patient's eventual cure. The
tumor progressed and a final operation only
partially removed the tumor; the wound became
severely infected with erysipelas by Streptococcus
pyogenes and the patient developed a high fever.
Little could be done to stop the infection, yet
surprisingly, after each attack of fever the ulcer
improved; the tumor shrank, and finally
disappeared completely. On a subsequent review,
the patient, still bearing a large scar from his
previous operations, had no trace of cancer and
claimed excellent health since his discharge.

Coleys toxins
Patient's activated immunity in response to the
acute infection was the key factor in cancer
regression.
He developed a vaccine containing two killed
bacteria,
Gram-positive Streptococcus pyogenes.
Gram-negative Serratia marcescens.
Experimental work could simulate an infection
with inflammation, chills, and fever without
worrying about the risks of an actual infection.

Coleys vaccine
Coley stressed that the technique of
administration and the ability of the vaccine to
induce mild to moderate fever was of paramount
importance in the regression of cancer.
He successfully used his vaccine, in treating a
man bedridden with an inoperable sarcoma
involving the abdominal wall, pelvis, and
bladder. The sarcoma regressed completely and
the patient was followed up until his death from
a heart attack 26 years later.

Coley's immunotherapy
Coley's vaccine was widely and successfully
used by other contemporaries for sarcomas as
well as carcinomas, lymphomas, melanomas,
and myelomas.
Coley's immunotherapy regimen was so
outstanding that even when applied to patients
in their final stages of disease.
Coley was considered to have treated more
sarcoma patients than any other physician up
to that time.

STIMULATED IMMUNOTHERAPY
Injections were optimally administered daily or
every other day for the first month or two.
To avoid immune tolerance to the vaccine, the
dosage was gradually increased over time
depending on the patient response. The vaccine
was injected directly into the primary tumor
and metastases when accessible.
Finally, a minimum 6-month course of weekly
injections was followed to prevent disease
recurrence. Ensuring a prolonged follow-up was
the most difficult part of the treatment.

Survival rate
A retrospective study of the patients with
inoperable soft tissue sarcomas treated with
Coley's vaccine found a superior 5-year survival
in patients whose fevers averaged 3840C,
compared with those having little or no fever
(38C) during treatment (60% vs. 20%).

Last report
The last recorded use of Coley's Toxins in the
world was in China in the 1980s as a primary
therapy for cancer in an adult male who had
terminal liver cancer involving large tumors in
both lobes of the liver; he received 68 injections
of Coley's Toxins in 34 weeks.
By the end of this course of treatment, all of the
tumors had completely regressed.
Before 20th century, at least 42 physicians from
Europe and North America had reported cases
of cancer that had been successfully treated
with Coley's Toxins.

Natural death
Stimulated immunotherapies ran a natural
death in the latter half of the 20th century due
to a number of reasons.
First, with the newer concept of asepsis, cancer
surgery like any other operation became a
sterile procedure with fewer postsurgical
infections especially after Lister's aseptic
techniques in the late 1800s.

 Second, by the time of Coley's death in 1936,

radiotherapy was an established treatment for
cancer and chemotherapy was slowly gaining
acceptance.
Such therapies though highly
immunosuppressive could more easily be
standardized than Coley's approach.

 Third, the administration of antibiotics Reduced the incidence of postsurgical

infections.
Antipyretics - Eliminate fever and discomforting
symptoms of an immune response.
Lastly due to an unfavorable approach of the
medical industrial regulatory complex of the
1960s.

American Cancer Society

Today, far more than half of all cancers are
curable
Referring to the fact that about 60% of patients
diagnosed with cancer during the period 1989
96 survived for at least 5 years.

National Cancer Institute

5-year survival rate includes persons who
survive for 5 years after diagnosis, whether in
remission, disease-free state, or under
treatment.
This concept is far away from the ideal of
achieving a cure for a disease-free state.
To this day, earlier diagnosis is the single most
important contributing factor in the observed
increase in 5-year survival rates.

Current status
Presently, the medical literature has dropped its
duration of cancer survival rates from an older
standard of 5 years to a mere 3 years and hence
is the increase in the percentage of survival rates.
Though modern therapies have added some years
to the life of the average cancer patient, they
have not reduced the patient's chances of dying
from the disease.
In fact, a resident of the United States is more
likely to die of cancer today (225.4 per 100,000)
than in 1950s (195.4 per 100,000).

therapies
The primary cancer therapies, namely, surgery,
radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, widely accepted
Every time an incision is made into cancerous
tumor, with even the least invasive type of incision
called the needle biopsy, there is a risk of
spreading the disease due to cancer cells entering
the bloodstream or becoming implanted in the
surrounding tissue.
There are at least 10 published cases of tumors
arising along the route taken by a biopsy needle.

Surgical consequences
Surgery and the subsequent healing process
greatly increases the risk of death by
metastasis in certain cancer patients
Disrupting tumor integrity and facilitating
metastasis,
Inducing local angiogenesis,
Immune suppression,
Enhancement of tumor growth. Directly
seeding the tumor,
Surgical stress also greatly enhances
metastasis being the primary concern of
fatality in cancer patients.

Radiological
consequences

The effects of radiation are often temporary and

have little impact on survival rates.
One study of 3,000 breast cancer patients
found that those receiving radiation in addition
to surgery did no better than patients who
received surgery alone.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy to some
extent are highly immunosuppressive and
therefore infections in these patients do not
lead to any immunostimulation.
Addition of antibiotics further deprives these
patients of the benefits of an immune response
and subsequent regression if any.

The Four Qualities

of Spontaneous
Healing

1. Faith
People who heal themselves all have faith in a power
greater then their individual capacities. These people
understand they are connected to a powerful source of
loving energy that creates all of life.
There is recognition that this power already knows how to
heal their body because it is the source of power out of
which their body was created.
A realization develops that if they can just get out of the
way and let this intelligence take over, they could
possibly be healed.

Mind

What spontaneous healers do is reverse negative

thought patterns.
They understand the way they have been thinking and
acting must change. With a change in attitude from
negative to positive is the possibility that the body can
change as well.
Science has shown that every thought you think is
associated with a chemical in your brain.
If you have an insecure thought, you will release an
insecure chemical. Likewise, if you have a loving
thought, you will release a loving chemical.
We end up thinking the way we feel and feeling the way
we think. Spontaneous healers realize they have to stop
negative thinking because that is contributing to their
illness.

Decision to reinvent
their personalities.

What this means is the decision to do something with

their life they have always wanted, but for some
reason, did not do. Questions arise in these patients.
They ask themselves: What does my life mean? What
vital acts do I have left to perform? What crucial words
do I have left unspoken? What would it be like to play
the violin?
An amazing transformation in the body can occur when
someone changes their life to include something they
always felt destined to do. After they begin that
process, illness may cure itself.
Numerous examples exist of people who found the
courage to begin painting, playing the piano,

Time
While engaged in their new activity, hours
become minutes. type of engagement
where time stands still changes the
neurochemistry and even the
neuroanatomy of your brain.
Spontaneous healers become so focused
on their internal picture of wellness and
healing that events of the external world no
longer have any detrimental impact. They
literally heal themselves from inside, out.

 Spontaneous healers are not

supernatural. They are normal people
like you and me. What they do is only
make a decision to change. When
you decide to have faith, to change
your attitude from negative to
positive, to reinvent yourself and to
loose track of time you are walking
through the door toward the miracle
you deserve.

A Starch-based Diet Supports Spontaneous

Healing:
Atherosclerosis, Arthritis, and Sometimes
Cancer
Over 75% of the chronic illnesses in developed countries are due to repeated
injuries from the fork and
spoon. Three and more times a day damaging quantities of fat, protein,
cholesterol, and chemicals are
ingested at the dinner tablebetter known these days as the bag of fast
food. The beef, chicken,
cheese, refined flours, and sugars are sources of present day malnutrition
excesses and deficiencies of
vital nutrients plague these foods.
Replacement with starch corrects the malnutrition with a perfect balance of fats,
proteins, carbohydrates,
vitamins, minerals, fibers, phytates, and other phytochemicals that support the
bodys powers
to heal and stay healthy. Rice, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans are
also devoid of injurious
substances: dietary cholesterol, harmful (saturated and trans) fats, chemical
toxins, allergy-inducing
proteins, and much more.

Spontaneous Healing of
Artery Disease

In the case of artery disease, like Robert Cross described above,

the meat, poultry, and dairy foods he ate damaged his arteries
over six decades.
Many mechanisms for these micro pinpricks of injury have been
described, including free-radical damage from oxidized fat and
cholesterol, attacks from the bodys own antibodies, and
poisonings from chemicals, like those from tobacco and the
environment.
The repeated injuries result in sores (think of them as pimples or
pustules) covering the inner surfaces of the arteries walls. Now
that you understand the inflammatory nature of artery disease,
you know the reason why a healthier diet, based on plant foods,
lowers C-reactive protein levels.
This diet stops repeated injuries and allows the sores to heal. You
also understand why low-carbohydrate, highfat diets, like the
Atkins diet, increase inflammation as indicated by a rise in Creactive protein (CRP).
The life-threatening event (a heart attack or a stroke) occurs when

 The Solution to Chronic Disease Is Simple

and Easy To Explain
Stop the repeated injuries. Identifying the
sources of these injuries is easy.
Unhealthy foods, and bad habits (smoking,
coffee, alcohol, etc.), have been known since
antiquity to be at the root of human maladies.
The real challenge is in changing lifelong
behaviors. This change begins by telling a
simple truth. The Starch Solution takes one
giant step forward for health and healing.
Expect dramatic results from your new diet.
You wont be disappointed.

The phenomenon of spontaneous regression is

also known as St. Peregrine tumor.
Peregrine Laziozi (12651345), a young priest, was
afflicted with cancer of the tibia requiring
amputation of the leg; the lesion grew to a point
where it broke through the skin and became
severely infected.
Miraculously, by the time his operation, physician
was astonished to observe that there were no signs
of the tumor. St. Peregrine's tumor never returned.

1.

Keratoacanthoma
Spontaneous regression
F. Peral Rubio, M.D.
Department of Dermatology
Hospital Universitario Virgen
Macarena
Seville, Spain

A 70 -years-old women.
The patient was referred to us for the
assessment of a lesion on the
forehead 4 weeks previously.
A biopsy was performed and
confirmed the diagnosis of
keratoacanthoma.

The patient was scheduled for

surgical treatment but did not attend
the treatment.
The patient returned to our clinic 3
months later with complete
regression of the lesion seen only a
scar.

Keratoacanthomas(KA) are rather common, rapid

growing skin tumors, in which may occur as
solitary lesions or in the form of multiple lesions.
Differentiation of KA from well-differentiated
squamous cell carcinoma may be problematic .
KA is a rapidly growth on the skin that expands
from 1-2mm to 1-3cm over a few weeks, and
develops into a smooth dome-shaped growth
with a central keratin core.
If untreated, KA's usually stop growing around 68 weeks, stay dormant and unchanging for 2-6
weeks, and then finally spontaneously regress
slowly over 2 to 12 months frequently healing
with scarring.
KA's are most commonly found in the hands,
arms, trunk and face.

KA should be differentiated clinically

and histologically from squamous cell
carcinomas,
Treatment varies according to the
type of lesions, but solitary lesions
should be excised.

2. Effect of Minimally Invasive

Low-intensity laser therapy
(MILLT) and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs on the
spontaneous regression of
intervertebral disc herniation
Alexander Tkachev MD
Nina Anigbogu
B.Pharm

Disc hernia is a medical condition that

affects the spine. It occurs when a tear
in the outer, fibrous ring (annulus
fibrosus) of an intervertebral disc
(discus intervertebralis) allows the
soft, central portion (nucleus pulposus)
to bulge out beyond the damaged
outer rings.

 Patients with disc hernia present with

symptoms such as back pain, leg pain, or
weakness of the lower extremity muscles.
Most common causes include:
Age
Strenuous work
In some cases, from general wear and
tear as a result of work that involves
constant sitting
For many, treatment is individualized based
on patients medical history, age, and
other factors.

Treatment
Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory
Drugs (NSAIDs)
Narcotics
Nerve pain medications
Cortisone injections
Minimally Invasive Low-intensity
laser therapy (MILLT)

Minimally Invasive Low-intensity

laser therapy (MILLT) in treating
patients with LBP
Over a period of 5 years minimal
invasive low-intensity therapy
treatment has been used at FM
Clinic, Volgograd on over 4000
patients presenting disc herniation of
various sizes, accompanied by back
pain.

Minimally Invasive
Low-intensity laser
therapy (ILLT)
The method of treatment uses the
impact of low-intensity laser light
through the LED, introduced through a
needle at a wavelength of 630 nm
placed at an angle of 45-90.

A needle is inserted at a depth of 30

35 mm to points located on the
spinous processes of vertebrae, which
have interverbral disc lesions
(protrusions or disc hernias) as
revealed by MRI scans.
Treatment is used for 15 minutes,
everyday, over a period of 10 days.

Methodology
600 patients participated in this
particular study.
Group A were treated using MILLT.
Group B were given conservative
treatment using NSAIDs and
recommendations in lifestyle
changes
Both groups were observed for the
same number of days

Disc herniation

GROUP A
Patients treated
with MILLT

GROUP B
Patients treated with
NSAIDs

Results
Group A
Number of patients
Gender
Disk hernia level

Disk hernia size

300
180 males
120 females
L4-L5 or L5-S1

Average size 0.83

mm

Group B
300
170 male
130 females
L4-L5 or L5-S1

Average size 0.85

mm

Results of MRI:
Group A (MILLT):

By the 4th or 5th procedure, 76% of the patients treated using MILLT
reported significant reduction in pain, tingling or weakness,
normalization of sleep and increased range of motion in the
affected area of the cervical spine.
24% of the patients reported improvement in later stages (still
within the first month of treatment).
After 3 months consistent positive results were seen in 93 97%
of patients with only 3 7% reporting less than satisfactory
results.
In carrying out controlled MRI studies of the spine of patients at
the same 3 month mark, aside from the achieved positive clinical
results, decrease in disc herniation was seen in 85% of patients.

Conclusion
MILLT treatment appears to produce
longer-lasting effects within a short
time span( spontaneous healing) as
opposed to other forms of treatment.

 Spontaneous Regression of Melanoma May

Offer Insight Into Cancer Immunology
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/93/14/104
7.full
http://www.ctr-c.com/article/S22130896(15)00006-7/abstract
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S2213089615000067
http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/114/3/638?
sso-checked=true

SR : a hidden treasure buried in

time
Observations of this non-specific effect led to the
emergence of active cancer immunotherapies by the
1700s. By the 1890s, William Coley refined this
approach with a bacterial vaccine which, when
administered properly, could induce complete
regression of extensive metastatic disease.
Unfortunately, after Coley's death, his vaccine and
technique fell into obscurity. Modern approaches to
treatment have reduced the occurrence of
spontaneous regressions. Aseptic techniques and
antibiotics significantly reduce postoperative
infections, while chemotherapy and radiation impair
immune activation even when an infection does
occur. More than a century after its inception,

 Since spontaneous regression is

often associated with a previous
history of acute infections and fever,
it is likely that fever-causing
pathogens have a beneficial role to
play in activating and stimulating the
immune defences which battle the
invading pathogens as well as gain a
new-found recognition of cancer cells
and attack them vigorously.

 Fever whether natural (acute infections) or

induced (Coley's Toxins) stimulate a multitude of
cascading, interlinking, and complex pathways of
the immune system simultaneously releasing
numerous products in the right quantity and
qualities to combat the disease which may not be
humanly possible to reproducein vitro. This may
explain why single cytokine therapy or immune
products dont give desirable results in cancer
therapy, besides being expensive, toxic, and at
times fatal due to the unnatural challenge they
pose to the human system

 The evidence and observations of

rapid tumor regression following
infection sometimes within hours
suggest that the innate rather than
the adaptive immune response is a
primary mediator of tumor regression
in such cases
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic
les/PMC3312698/?
report=classic#ref10 )

 A review of previous reports suggests that

the occurrence of fever in childhood or
adulthood may protect against the later
onset of malignant disease and that
spontaneous remissions are often preceded
by feverish infections. Pyrogenic
substances and a more recent use of whole
body hyperthermia to mimic the
physiologic response to fever have
successfully been administered in palliative
and curative treatment protocols for
metastatic cancer
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11549887)

conclusion
Acute inflammatory responses have benefited
terminal cancer patients in the reduction of cancer
pain as well as fast wound healing.
Childhood febrile infections can prevent cancer in
adulthood. Asepsis, fever control, surgery, and
immunosuppressive therapies are known to have
an inverse relation to cancer regression.
While acute infection, fever, and cancer vaccines
by the virtue of immunostimulation induce
regression of cancer even in the most advanced
stage of disease and prove that cancer is not an
irreversible process without a cure.

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Thank you