Chemotherapy and Its Side Effects: Chapter 3 - Side Effects of Chemotherapy

D. Other Side Effects

D. 2. Kidney damage (nephrotoxicity)

Kidneys play an essential role in the urinary system. In addition, kidneys have other functions, which include the regulation of electrolytes, blood pressure, acid-base balance, re-absorption of glucose & amino acids, and the production of erythropoietin (a hormone that stimulates stem cells in the bone marrow to produce RBCs).

Kidneys filter out creatinine (a break-down product of phosphocreatine in muscle) from blood so that there is little re-absorption of creatinine. Therefore, higher blood levels of creatinine indicate kidney may be injured and has a problem filtering out creatinine. If the filtering function of the kidney is deficient, it usually indicates that significant damage has occurred to normal nephrons (the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney) and blood levels of creatinine will rise. Therefore, creatinine levels in blood and urine may be used to calculate the creatinine clearance as one measurement of renal function.

A more complete kidney function measurement also includes blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Urea is a substance secreted by the liver, and removed from the blood by the kidney. A greatly elevated BUN (>60 mg/dL) generally indicates a moderate-to-severe degree of renal failure.

Unlike conventional drugs, cisplatin is not really “detoxified” by the liver, thus not only can it damage liver, it can also reach the kidney in the same molecular structure and still not easily excreted by the kidneys. As a result, bold levels of creatinine and BUN are usually elevated by cisplatin treatment. 

Nephrotoxicity is the major side effect of cisplatin, which evolves slowly but predictably after initial and repeated exposure of cisplatin. Nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin may be related to reactive oxygen species (ROS).

In addition, among the earliest reactions of the kidney is the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade which is typical of the stress response. The inflammatory cascade is an important determinant of the degree of renal failure induced by cisplatin.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2020

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book, "SIDE EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY", prepared by Dr. Jiajiu Shaw, Dr. Frederick Valeriote, and Dr. Ben Chen.

Novel/Unconventional Methods for Cancer Treatment (3)

(3) Ozone Treatment: Using Oxygen to Kill Cancer Cells

How does the ozone treatment work?  First of all, we need to explain the difference between ozone and oxygen.  Ozone is a pale-blue triatomic gas (molecular formula O₃), that converts into oxygen (molecular formula O₂) under normal condition.  Ozone is a very strong oxidizing agent and maybe that is why it is being used instead of oxygen.  Secondly, it is believed that cancer cells are anaerobic and they will die under a higher oxygen condition.

One example of ozone therapy involves removing part of the blood from the body, saturating the blood with ozone, and then putting the ozone-rich blood back into the body.  Another example is to simply inject by I.V. a fluid saturated with ozone or oxygen into the body.  In both methods, ozone is gradually converted into oxygen in the body.  Both methods are based on the same theory that high oxygen concentration in the blood will kill cancer cells.

I may not disagree with the theory but I am not sure if this technology is good enough in practice.  In my opinion, there are potential issues to be answered: Will the method be able to deliver high enough concentration of oxygen to the tumor to kill cancer cells?  How about the potential side effects to normal cells?  It is known that too much reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be increased by chemotherapy, radiation, and many other factors.  In this case, the high oxygen concentration in blood could increase ROS in different organs and could be potentially harmful to some normal cells.

Some people believe that under higher oxygen concentration, cancer cells will die.  Theoretically, if cancer cells are placed under any conditions that are not suitable for them to grow, they will die.  The same thing happens to normal cells.  As I mentioned in the early sections, most cancer cells are derived from normal cells, thus, they are similar to normal cells in many ways.  Macroscopically speaking, for any conditions that normal cells can grow, cancer cells will grow.  However, cancer cells can grow under certain conditions that normal cells cannot grow. 

With that understanding, it is reasonably to conclude that a simple oxygen treatment might not work satisfactorily for cancer treatment and significant improvement may be necessary.  

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2016

All contents posted in this blog are extracted from the book "IS CANCER IN US", available at Amazon.

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Although some commercial products, publications, and services are mentioned in this blog, the author does not endorse any specific products, publications, or services.  None of the contents in this blog represents or warrants that any of the products, publications, or services is appropriate or effective for their intended purposes. Readers shall always seek the advice of their physicians or other medical practitioners with any questions regarding personal health or medical conditions and shall be solely responsible for their own decisions and/or actions.