Cancer and HFE Related Hemochromatosis
Hemochromatosis and cancers have interesting interactions that all of us should be aware of.
Quick Overview
Discussion
First lets be clear about what cancers are and how they happen. Cancer can be summarized as cells in your body going bad and refusing to function normally. They grow and replicate even when your body tells them to die. Many factors lead to this, but really it is mostly just bad luck. There are many, many cancers. They can be generally categorized by where they occur in the body, but more appropriately each cancer has a specific DNA sequence that truly identifies it. These DNA profiles can best determine the course of treatment. So a cancer in breast tissue could be found to be susceptible to treatments typically used for cancers in other cells based on its DNA sequence.
Excessive iron (definitions vary from >150 to over 200 or 300 or 1,000 on a Serum Ferritin test) is known to increase the potential for cancerous cells to be created. In lung cancers, for instance, tobacco has a high iron content and smoking it directly deposits iron into the lungs. The body is not efficient at protecting itself from iron ingested in this way, so much of this iron is left in a form that increases all nearby cells chances of mutating into a cancer.
Cancers that are most common for HFE Hemochromatosis:
How can iron disable the body's natural defenses against cancer? A good article on this is found here: http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(14)00156-9
In general, one molecule that fights some cancers (P53 Tumor Protein) has several places where iron can attach to it. But the more iron that attaches to it, the less effective it becomes at its own job. When there is excess iron in the body, these protector cells stop being able to repair DNA or kill bad cells. Not to sound like a Big Pharma commercial, but if you have cancer, especially one listed above, ensure that you and your doctor know your Serum Ferritin! Also, if it is high ask your doctor to evaluate using a Proton Pump Inhibitor like Prilosec in addition to phlebotomy to decrease your body's iron faster. Also, apheresis may be available in your area and can be a faster way to decrease iron stores than phlebotomy (and it uses a smaller needle if you have issues with your veins!).
C282Y homozygotes are special (and heterozygotes too as I understand this article). This variation itself, not the increased iron stores, alters cholesterol both in its own cell and throughout the person's body. C282Y homozygotes have lower overall cholesterol and especially lower LDL cholesterol than other people, but we also have more cholesterol stored in our cells. This makes it harder for all of our cells, good or bad, to die. Statins reduce cholesterol inside our cells and may cause cancer cells to stop growing, replicating or flat out kill them for cancer patients with the C282Y variation. This is related to cells that express the HFE protein, therefore not all cancers may respond to statins. It is likely that the same cancers listed above would also be the ones that respond to statins. The source for this information (warning highly technical document ahead) is here:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088724
So there you have it. PPIs and statins can be cancer fighters and we need to make sure our doctors know this if we or someone we love is fighting cancer. PPI info can be found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1954964/
A very thorough examination of iron and a variety of cancers can be read here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13238-014-0119-z/fulltext.html
This article is very technical and probably best to read only for those who are directly affected so they can further discuss with their doctors. Based on the article:
"Iron is implicated in multiple cancer types. These cancers mainly include breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, hepatocellular cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer and haematological cancers"
Quick Overview
- Iron is a mutagen that can cause cells to become cancerous. Which is why we have up to a 200 times increase in having liver cancer and a general increase in many other cancers.
- Iron can disable the body's anti-tumor defenses (P53).
- For C282Y variants in specific, excess cholesterol is stored in all body cells which will add fuel to cancers in those cells. But statins can be used to reduce these cholesterol stores very quickly an potentially starve and kill the cancer cells.
Discussion
First lets be clear about what cancers are and how they happen. Cancer can be summarized as cells in your body going bad and refusing to function normally. They grow and replicate even when your body tells them to die. Many factors lead to this, but really it is mostly just bad luck. There are many, many cancers. They can be generally categorized by where they occur in the body, but more appropriately each cancer has a specific DNA sequence that truly identifies it. These DNA profiles can best determine the course of treatment. So a cancer in breast tissue could be found to be susceptible to treatments typically used for cancers in other cells based on its DNA sequence.
Excessive iron (definitions vary from >150 to over 200 or 300 or 1,000 on a Serum Ferritin test) is known to increase the potential for cancerous cells to be created. In lung cancers, for instance, tobacco has a high iron content and smoking it directly deposits iron into the lungs. The body is not efficient at protecting itself from iron ingested in this way, so much of this iron is left in a form that increases all nearby cells chances of mutating into a cancer.
Cancers that are most common for HFE Hemochromatosis:
- Liver (20 - 200% more likely)
- Colon (100% more likely)
- Breast (100% more likely)
- Cancers associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome; in addition to breast cancer, "a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma, and cancers of soft tissues (such as muscle) called soft tissue sarcomas. Other cancers commonly seen in this syndrome include brain tumors, cancers of blood-forming tissues (leukemias), and a cancer called adrenocortical carcinoma that affects the outer layer of the adrenal glands (small hormone-producing glands on top of each kidney). Several other types of cancer also occur more frequently in people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. " (Source: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/li-fraumeni-syndrome)
How can iron disable the body's natural defenses against cancer? A good article on this is found here: http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(14)00156-9
In general, one molecule that fights some cancers (P53 Tumor Protein) has several places where iron can attach to it. But the more iron that attaches to it, the less effective it becomes at its own job. When there is excess iron in the body, these protector cells stop being able to repair DNA or kill bad cells. Not to sound like a Big Pharma commercial, but if you have cancer, especially one listed above, ensure that you and your doctor know your Serum Ferritin! Also, if it is high ask your doctor to evaluate using a Proton Pump Inhibitor like Prilosec in addition to phlebotomy to decrease your body's iron faster. Also, apheresis may be available in your area and can be a faster way to decrease iron stores than phlebotomy (and it uses a smaller needle if you have issues with your veins!).
C282Y homozygotes are special (and heterozygotes too as I understand this article). This variation itself, not the increased iron stores, alters cholesterol both in its own cell and throughout the person's body. C282Y homozygotes have lower overall cholesterol and especially lower LDL cholesterol than other people, but we also have more cholesterol stored in our cells. This makes it harder for all of our cells, good or bad, to die. Statins reduce cholesterol inside our cells and may cause cancer cells to stop growing, replicating or flat out kill them for cancer patients with the C282Y variation. This is related to cells that express the HFE protein, therefore not all cancers may respond to statins. It is likely that the same cancers listed above would also be the ones that respond to statins. The source for this information (warning highly technical document ahead) is here:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088724
So there you have it. PPIs and statins can be cancer fighters and we need to make sure our doctors know this if we or someone we love is fighting cancer. PPI info can be found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1954964/
A very thorough examination of iron and a variety of cancers can be read here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13238-014-0119-z/fulltext.html
This article is very technical and probably best to read only for those who are directly affected so they can further discuss with their doctors. Based on the article:
"Iron is implicated in multiple cancer types. These cancers mainly include breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, hepatocellular cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer and haematological cancers"