8 ms·

After man says dog dewormer cured his cancer, researchers look into treatment

139 points by jimmckin1 7y ago

Spixel 7y ago
451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time. For any issues, contact web@tulsaworld.com or call 918-581-8300.
- citruspi 7y ago
  https://pastebin.com/jvqcradG https://pastebin.com/jvqcradG
- kahseng 7y ago
  If helpful, here's what the US sees https://ctxt.io/2/AACAZ3Z6FA https://ctxt.io/2/AACAZ3Z6FA
- mcuelenaere 7y ago
  https://web.archive.org/web/20190720170128/https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/after-edmond-man-says-dog-dewormer-cured-his-cancer-researchers/article_00691b72-a223-51a5-aec0-e743faf1eed4.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190720170128/https://www.tulsa...
- xenospn 7y ago
  After an Edmond man claimed a dewormer medication meant for dogs cured him of small-cell lung cancer, some cancer researchers now want to learn more about the mysterious drug that is piquing patient interest. Joe Tippens was only given three months to live. But doctors later enrolled him in a clinical trial they hoped could give him more time. Tippens said he received a tip from a veterinarian who suggested he try a dog dewormer drug called fenbendazole, which was believed to display cancer-fighting properties, according to cell studies. In his blog, Tippens wrote that after receiving his fourth cancer-free diagnosis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last April, the results indicated that his cancer was gone after two years of treatment. Dr. Stephen Prescott, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation president, said Tippens’ story interested him after speaking to a scientist at Johns Hopkins University who conducted a case study where scientists implanted immune-deficient mice with human tumors. While the experiment was still in progress, a veterinarian at Johns Hopkins University put the mice on the same deworming medications that Tippens used. After examining the results, scientists found that the implanted tumors would not grow, he said. “They were trying to make cancer in mice and unbeknownst to them, something that the veterinarian in the facility had done prevented that,” Prescott said. Shortly after, Prescott said he met Tippens through mutual friends. While director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Prescott said he “would hear stories all the time about new approaches to cancer medical treatments,” but remained skeptical. However, Prescott said he and a team Tippens is putting together will collaborate to explore alternative care methods. “It would be a wonderful thing if we discovered that there is this compound that has broad activity with dramatic responses like with Mr. Tippens, what a great thing that would be,” he said. Prescott said they plan to spend six to 12 months researching the medical records of cancer patients. In their study, they will consider specifics such as the treatment they received, how they reacted and how long they were given to live. By studying Tippens’ case further, Prescott said they could provide more truth to the dog dewormer medicinal impact. One problem made evident by some anticancer medications is that over time they become ineffective, he said. It is the reason why patients today are seeking other treatments. Most anticancer drugs attack a specific target on or in the cancer cell, he explained. “What often happens is that it works initially and then quits working,” Prescott said. “And the reason is the cancer has continued to change and have additional mutations, so what was the initial targets no longer respond to the drug.” Part of Tippens’ treatment regimen was CBD. Chip Paul, the founder of Owasso-based GnuPharma, a company that specializes in developing natural products, said he is unsure how influential CBD alone was on Tippens’ cancer cells. “If he was just taking cannabidiol, it is doubtful that it affected his cancer because it does not have the right actives in it to be able to signal that,” Paul said. Prescott said as the clinical trial develops, he hopes that it will eventually lead to answers regarding Tippens’ shocking recovery. “I do really applaud Mr. Tippens for his forthrightness and aggressive stance for something he believes has helped him and can help us as a people,” Prescott said. “He has done more than any patient has done in that regard.”
- ylere 7y ago
  https://outline.com/V2UVYc https://outline.com/V2UVYc
- rootsudo 7y ago
  The tongue in cheek is really good at 451.
- guggle 7y ago
  Joe Tippens was only given three months to live. But doctors later enrolled him in a clinical trial they hoped could give him more time. Tippens said he received a tip from a veterinarian who suggested he try a dog dewormer drug called fenbendazole, which was believed to display cancer-fighting properties, according to cell studies. In his blog, Tippens wrote that after receiving his fourth cancer-free diagnosis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last April, the results indicated that his cancer was gone after two years of treatment. Dr. Stephen Prescott, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation president, said Tippens’ story interested him after speaking to a scientist at Johns Hopkins University who conducted a case study where scientists implanted immune-deficient mice with human tumors. While the experiment was still in progress, a veterinarian at Johns Hopkins University put the mice on the same deworming medications that Tippens used. After examining the results, scientists found that the implanted tumors would not grow, he said. “They were trying to make cancer in mice and unbeknownst to them, something that the veterinarian in the facility had done prevented that,” Prescott said. Shortly after, Prescott said he met Tippens through mutual friends. While director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Prescott said he “would hear stories all the time about new approaches to cancer medical treatments,” but remained skeptical. However, Prescott said he and a team Tippens is putting together will collaborate to explore alternative care methods. “It would be a wonderful thing if we discovered that there is this compound that has broad activity with dramatic responses like with Mr. Tippens, what a great thing that would be,” he said. Prescott said they plan to spend six to 12 months researching the medical records of cancer patients. In their study, they will consider specifics such as the treatment they received, how they reacted and how long they were given to live. By studying Tippens’ case further, Prescott said they could provide more truth to the dog dewormer medicinal impact. One problem made evident by some anticancer medications is that over time they become ineffective, he said. It is the reason why patients today are seeking other treatments. Most anticancer drugs attack a specific target on or in the cancer cell, he explained. “What often happens is that it works initially and then quits working,” Prescott said. “And the reason is the cancer has continued to change and have additional mutations, so what was the initial targets no longer respond to the drug.” Part of Tippens’ treatment regimen was CBD. Chip Paul, the founder of Owasso-based GnuPharma, a company that specializes in developing natural products, said he is unsure how influential CBD alone was on Tippens’ cancer cells. “If he was just taking cannabidiol, it is doubtful that it affected his cancer because it does not have the right actives in it to be able to signal that,” Paul said. Prescott said as the clinical trial develops, he hopes that it will eventually lead to answers regarding Tippens’ shocking recovery. “I do really applaud Mr. Tippens for his forthrightness and aggressive stance for something he believes has helped him and can help us as a people,” Prescott said. “He has done more than any patient has done in that regard.”
- hanniabu 7y ago
  Click the "web" link below the link to the story and select another source
- echelon 7y ago
  This is one of the many viable options US companies have for dealing with EU traffic. GDPR compliance can be extremely expensive to implement, especially for complex software comprised of thousands of microservices that handle customer data. And imagine working in an industry where data retention is legally mandated by other jurisdictions... I'm not saying GDPR is bad (I'm all in favor!), but the costs can be quite large to implement to the letter of the law (GDPR export requirements, etc)
  - rlpb 7y ago
    > GDPR compliance can be extremely expensive to implement... Bullshit. It's trivial to implement. Don't store my personal data. Done. It may be extremely expensive to store and process my personal data and remain GDPR compliant, if you insist on doing that. And admittedly it may be expensive to store and process others' personal data while excluding EU citizens from that mechanism. But the blanket statement "GDPR compliance can be extremely expensive to implement" is on its own extremely misleading in this context. > And imagine working in an industry where data retention is legally mandated by other jurisdictions... Perhaps, but this is not relevant to a news organisation publishing a general article online from the USA, where (AFAIK) there is no such data retention requirement in any jurisdiction within the USA.
    - sagebird 7y ago
      It is not trivial for publishers who have years of adding advertising and analytics tools to their website to come up with a strategy for peeling these back or checking compliance. If I had a blog, it would be easy for me to check and decide what to remove or modify. But being part of an organization means that most of the shit on a publisher’s network is a manager’s baby project and is going to require meetings, ego stroking, and if you suggest a change then revenue drops, you will be prime suspect. Not to mention months of managers saying — “well we used to have this really great analytics platform that helped me steer this company but now I can’t do my job because so and so deactivated X”. For many of the tools you might have a contract with a company to provide service. They have people specifically hired to be persuasive calling your leadership to try to keep the relationship going, so they will fight to keep you as a customer. I think the interesting thing is that you can’t pass the buck, you are ultimately responsible for providing compliance, not just choosing tools that claim compliance.
- bryanrasmussen 7y ago
  As I was trying to find a non gdpr resistant news article I happened to come across this https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9344028/cocaine-rot-skin-genitals-drug-cut-cattle-dewormer/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9344028/cocaine-rot-skin-genit... "COKE ROT Cocaine can ROT your skin and genitals – as drug is cut with dangerous cattle de-wormer, experts warn" the interesting thing is in the article it says cocaine can be cut with Levamisole, which: was used to treat arthritis and bowel cancer in the past, but it was banned for use by humans in 2000....Now, it's only supposed to be used in veterinary medicine to kill parasitic worms.
  - cwkoss 7y ago
    I wonder if cocaine users have lower incidences of certain kinds of cancers? Would be an interesting thing to look for in large epidemiological studies.
- Chris_Chambers 7y ago
  How can countries even be accurately detected? IP lookup table? Blindly guessing based on the Accept-Language header?
- tass 7y ago
  Does this kind of action actually absolve them of GDPR responsibilities? If an EU citizen/resident/etc accessed the site from a country that’s not blocked, or via VPN, are they unable to ask for their information or have it scrubbed? What if a person later becomes an EU citizen? What if they are a dual citizen? I don’t understand how these geo blockers are able to make anyone compliant.
  - cheald 7y ago
    > Does this kind of action actually absolve them of GDPR responsibilities? All the rest of our laws travel with jurisdictions, not with individuals' citizenship status. The GDPR doesn't really have any standing to impose obligations on companies that refuse to do business inside EU jurisdictions. We won't know until it's tested in court, but demonstrating a best effort to keep your product out of EU jurisdiction seems like a pretty good first defense.
    - ivolimmen 7y ago
      But if a EU citizen has an account already they are bound to the GDPR. Blocking this account only makes it worse (legally).
      - cheald 7y ago
        The GDPR might assert that they're bound, but an Oklahoma-based business with no business presence or assets inside the EU isn't bound by EU law. This is pretty much the foundation of national sovereignty. How would an EU enforcer actually enforce the GDPR in this case? Unless there's been a violation of a trade agreement, any attempt to apply EU law to a US-based company operating on US soil is going to be utterly impotent.
        mattlondon 7y ago
        No any company that deals with people in the EU (even non-EU citizens physically in the EU) needs to obey GDPR - simple site explaining it simply here: https://www.compliancejunction.com/countries-subject-gdpr-privacy-law/ https://www.compliancejunction.com/countries-subject-gdpr-pr... Geo location for IPs is a very inexact science so they almost certainly are processing EU citizens' data. Hell I can access it with a VPN while sat in the EU so yep, they are liable if they store anything about me (apparently IP addresses are considered PII in terms of GDPR too) No idea how they'd enforce it - various murky-references to "international law" are floating around. I guess these sort of things are covered in trade treaties etc like with patents and copyright etc.
- hrbf 7y ago
  I'm pretty sure this is a wrong use of the spirit of HTTP code 451. It is meant for censorship by external forces like governments. If you block people from legislations that don’t allow invasive tracking by default, it’s you doing the censorship, for economic gain no less.
apo 7y ago
This story is very poorly organized. The structure is especially bad for scientific subjects because crucial details can be obfuscated. Take this one for example, which appears well into the article: > Part of Tippens’ treatment regimen was CBD. Nowhere does the article describe in one place exactly what the treatment regimen was. Was it just CBD + fenbendazole or other components? When did the CBD begin? Even the nature of the trial (?) that Tippens was part of (or not) during his cure is cloudy.
- diyseguy 7y ago
  In the linked blog post, he details his regimen Tocotrienol and Tocopherol forms (all 8) of Vitamin E (400-800mg per day, 7 days a week). A product called Gamma E by Life Extension or Perfect E are both great. Bio-Available Curcumin (600mg per day, 2 pills per day 7 days a week). A product called Theracurmin HP by Integrative Therapeutics is bioavailable., and CBD oil (1-2 droppers-ful [equal to 25mg per day] under the tongue, 7 days a week) oil Panacur C (fenbendazole) (1 GRAM PER DAY FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS) per week. Take 4 days off and repeat each week. Each gram of Panacur C has approximately 222 mg of fenbendazole, https://www.mycancerstory.rocks/single-post/2016/08/22/Shake-up-your-life-how-to-change-your-own-perspective https://www.mycancerstory.rocks/single-post/2016/08/22/Shake...
- lostlogin 7y ago
  > This story is very poorly organized. It wasn’t as awkward as that opening photo.
lazyjones 7y ago
Seems to be the same as this: https://www.odditycentral.com/news/man-claims-cheap-dog-deworming-medicine-cured-his-terminal-cancer.html https://www.odditycentral.com/news/man-claims-cheap-dog-dewo... Apologies if this is stolen content etc. but I can't read the original in the EU apparently.
- ricardobeat 7y ago
  This URL also returns “Not found” in the EU.
  - lazyjones 7y ago
    Sorry, I removed 1 character too much when I cut off the tracking stuff. It's .html, not .htm (fixed).
jcims 7y ago
This might be the paper from Johns Hopkins: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/
- HarryHirsch 7y ago
  Looks like it. The hypothesis is not completely far out, the benzimidazoles interfere with microtubule assembly, and some chemotherapeutic agents in clinical practice (taxol, the vinca alcaloids) do the same. The strange thing is that the affinity of benzimidazole anthelmintics to mammalian tubulin is much lower than to roundworm tubulins, but as we say, more research is needed.
sillypudding 7y ago
[Speculation] This is interesting to me because Crohn’s Disease (and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in general) is known to respond to certain antibiotics such as Metronidazole and Ciprofloxacin [1]. Maybe a analogous action is at play here. [1] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inflammatory_bowel_disease_center/about_ibd/index.html https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inflammatory_bowel_disease_c...
- ionwake 7y ago
  could it also improve athritic conditions? I have heard they are related to gut biome aswell
- pojzon 7y ago
  Not sure if I understood correctly. Metronidazol helps to keep inflammation at bay ? Im asking because I was taking this antibiotic and Ive seen huge change in my skin inflammation, joint pains and bowel pains.
  - rubyfan 7y ago
    Change for better or for worse?
    - pojzon 7y ago
      For better, funny enough I got it for completely different condition.
      - rubyfan 7y ago
        Did the cipro help long term or only during the treatment?
  - WalterSear 7y ago
    Is Psoriasis a bowel disease? Successful treatment with bile acids and bioflavonoids suggests it is. https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2018.03.011 https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2018.03.011 Fwiw: The article actually suggests that Psoriasis, (and IMHO, by extension, potentially autoimmune disease in general), are associated with liver dysfunction, driven by bowel disease.
tepidandroid 7y ago
Not to oversimplify the complexities of cancer or anything, but for some reason, Peter Hintjens’ (creator of zeromq) suspicions about the primary cause of his own cancer came to mind after reading this [1]. ”As for not getting cancer… the probable cause in my case was a parasite called a liver fluke, which attaches to the bile duct and produces carcinogens. Nature is nice like that. The parasite comes from farmed fresh-water fish. The cancer I had is a major cause of death in SE Asia. I think it was cheap sushi that almost killed me.” [1] http://hintjens.com/blog:109 http://hintjens.com/blog:109
- hammock 7y ago
  Liver flukes have an outsized impact on Americans as well, specifically Vietnam vets: https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veterans.html https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veter... To avoid them, make sure freshwater fish in SE Asia is fully cooked.
- caymanjim 7y ago
  Adding this of my list of things to ask my doctor about next time I'm there. I've spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and a smaller amount of time in Africa and India. I'll spare the details, but in addition to having already been treated for lymphoma (which I have no reason to believe was parasitic in origin), I've got various intestinal and other chronic symptoms that have no obvious cause (and aren't debilitating enough to warrant a massive array of tests). Mostly I'm just curious. I've absolutely eaten enormous amounts of questionable meat and fish, and poorly-washed produce.
- bobowzki 7y ago
  Thanks, I really enjoyed that blog post!
- nathan_f77 7y ago
  Thanks for your comment! I've been living in SE Asia for a few years, but I don't think I've eaten any raw freshwater fish. I eat a lot of sushi, but that's always saltwater fish. Anyway, I'll make sure I get checked for liver flukes.
sansnomme 7y ago
Fun fact: there's a vaccine for Lyme disease too.
- bdamm 7y ago
  A safe one?
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
chiefalchemist 7y ago
Probably not a popular position here on HN but I'm becoming more and more intrigued by the power of a placebo. Furthermore, it's possible we are often undermining a placebo's power but telling ourselves it's science and only science that can save us - even tho', trust is, the placebo effect is very real. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/melanie-warner-the-magic-feather-effect/586012/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/melanie...
- warent 7y ago
  I'm not sure why it wouldn't be a popular position. There are countless scientific studies demonstrating the efficacy of placebo. The human mind is a powerful thing.
  - chiefalchemist 7y ago
    -3 votes. HN is so predictable sometimes.
    - warent 7y ago
      I don't think it's because you're saying placebo is powerful. It's because you're anecdotally suggesting that there's some group of people who think that placebo has no place in science, and then you're connecting that hypothetical group of people to the HN community. The predictability is a good thing I think. If you fart in an elevator, people will predictably be disgusted. It's about social expectations.
      - chiefalchemist 7y ago
        ". It's because you're anecdotally suggesting that there's some group of people who think that placebo has no place in science, " I'm suggesting that __science__ has suggested (to some people) that - despite the science - the placebo has no place in solutions/cures. That science is the only hope. Not only does that subvert placebos, it's self-fulfilling for science. The problem is, science's success rate still comes up shorts. That's not anecdotal.
wbhart 7y ago
I once saw a case on a conspiracy forum of a guy who claimed that taking worming tablets had cured his cancer. It wasn't a clear case to me, as he'd also been taking traditional chemo. His doctors apparently told him that the worm tablets he was taking were harmless and he could go on taking them, but the doctor didn't think it had any effect on his cancer. The real issue I have with this sort of reporting is that the plural of anecdote is not data. If 1% of people with a given kind of cancer will survive, and some percentage of them take alternative medicines, then a smaller, but nonzero, percentage of people will believe they were cured by taking just about anything. Controlled, double blind, randomized trials are the only way we can know whether these anecdotes have anything to them.
- tomohawk 7y ago
  Agree with the studies, but the singular of data is not "cure" or "safe". A substance that is shown to be beneficial in general may not be beneficial for you, and may even be harmful for you. I have a family member who cannot take various common medicines, not because of the active ingredient (which they need) but because of the inactive ones which are generally considered safe. Conversely, it is possible for a substance which is not shown to have a general effect in a study to have an effect specifically for a person or small group of people. Discounting this and hiding behind "evidence based medicine" is not helpful.
- jcims 7y ago
  Unfortunately there appear to be zero references to this drug at clinicaltrials.gov.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  > Controlled, double blind, randomized trials are the only way we can know whether these anecdotes have anything to them. The problem is they're too damn expensive. There is a huge number of people willing to put almost anything in their body in the hope it might help (animal remedies, herbs, homeopathic remedies, etc). If we could harness these people into cheap double-blind trials, we could advance science much quicker and cheaper. I'm thinking something along the lines of "you tell us what pseudoscience remedy you want, and we'll return either it or a placebo with 50/50 chance, and then you self-report the results to us".
izuchukwu 7y ago
It does appear that anti-cancer effects have been discovered in research in both Fenbendazole [0][1][2], the treatment that he used, as well as related anti-helmintics like Flubendazole [3], specifically when paired with certain vitamins like Vitamin E rather than when administered alone. Flubendazole’s particularly interesting as it’s already FDA-approved for human use. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/ [1]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30158-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30158-6 [2]:https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/03/406321/deworming-pill-may-be-effective-treating-liver-cancer https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/03/406321/deworming-pill-may-... [3]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25811972/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25811972/

139 points by jimmckin1 7y ago

451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time. For any issues, contact web@tulsaworld.com or call 918-581-8300.

citruspi 7y ago
https://pastebin.com/jvqcradG https://pastebin.com/jvqcradG
kahseng 7y ago
If helpful, here's what the US sees https://ctxt.io/2/AACAZ3Z6FA https://ctxt.io/2/AACAZ3Z6FA
mcuelenaere 7y ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20190720170128/https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/after-edmond-man-says-dog-dewormer-cured-his-cancer-researchers/article_00691b72-a223-51a5-aec0-e743faf1eed4.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190720170128/https://www.tulsa...
xenospn 7y ago
After an Edmond man claimed a dewormer medication meant for dogs cured him of small-cell lung cancer, some cancer researchers now want to learn more about the mysterious drug that is piquing patient interest. Joe Tippens was only given three months to live. But doctors later enrolled him in a clinical trial they hoped could give him more time. Tippens said he received a tip from a veterinarian who suggested he try a dog dewormer drug called fenbendazole, which was believed to display cancer-fighting properties, according to cell studies. In his blog, Tippens wrote that after receiving his fourth cancer-free diagnosis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last April, the results indicated that his cancer was gone after two years of treatment. Dr. Stephen Prescott, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation president, said Tippens’ story interested him after speaking to a scientist at Johns Hopkins University who conducted a case study where scientists implanted immune-deficient mice with human tumors. While the experiment was still in progress, a veterinarian at Johns Hopkins University put the mice on the same deworming medications that Tippens used. After examining the results, scientists found that the implanted tumors would not grow, he said. “They were trying to make cancer in mice and unbeknownst to them, something that the veterinarian in the facility had done prevented that,” Prescott said. Shortly after, Prescott said he met Tippens through mutual friends. While director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Prescott said he “would hear stories all the time about new approaches to cancer medical treatments,” but remained skeptical. However, Prescott said he and a team Tippens is putting together will collaborate to explore alternative care methods. “It would be a wonderful thing if we discovered that there is this compound that has broad activity with dramatic responses like with Mr. Tippens, what a great thing that would be,” he said. Prescott said they plan to spend six to 12 months researching the medical records of cancer patients. In their study, they will consider specifics such as the treatment they received, how they reacted and how long they were given to live. By studying Tippens’ case further, Prescott said they could provide more truth to the dog dewormer medicinal impact. One problem made evident by some anticancer medications is that over time they become ineffective, he said. It is the reason why patients today are seeking other treatments. Most anticancer drugs attack a specific target on or in the cancer cell, he explained. “What often happens is that it works initially and then quits working,” Prescott said. “And the reason is the cancer has continued to change and have additional mutations, so what was the initial targets no longer respond to the drug.” Part of Tippens’ treatment regimen was CBD. Chip Paul, the founder of Owasso-based GnuPharma, a company that specializes in developing natural products, said he is unsure how influential CBD alone was on Tippens’ cancer cells. “If he was just taking cannabidiol, it is doubtful that it affected his cancer because it does not have the right actives in it to be able to signal that,” Paul said. Prescott said as the clinical trial develops, he hopes that it will eventually lead to answers regarding Tippens’ shocking recovery. “I do really applaud Mr. Tippens for his forthrightness and aggressive stance for something he believes has helped him and can help us as a people,” Prescott said. “He has done more than any patient has done in that regard.”
ylere 7y ago
https://outline.com/V2UVYc https://outline.com/V2UVYc
rootsudo 7y ago
The tongue in cheek is really good at 451.
guggle 7y ago
Joe Tippens was only given three months to live. But doctors later enrolled him in a clinical trial they hoped could give him more time. Tippens said he received a tip from a veterinarian who suggested he try a dog dewormer drug called fenbendazole, which was believed to display cancer-fighting properties, according to cell studies. In his blog, Tippens wrote that after receiving his fourth cancer-free diagnosis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last April, the results indicated that his cancer was gone after two years of treatment. Dr. Stephen Prescott, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation president, said Tippens’ story interested him after speaking to a scientist at Johns Hopkins University who conducted a case study where scientists implanted immune-deficient mice with human tumors. While the experiment was still in progress, a veterinarian at Johns Hopkins University put the mice on the same deworming medications that Tippens used. After examining the results, scientists found that the implanted tumors would not grow, he said. “They were trying to make cancer in mice and unbeknownst to them, something that the veterinarian in the facility had done prevented that,” Prescott said. Shortly after, Prescott said he met Tippens through mutual friends. While director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Prescott said he “would hear stories all the time about new approaches to cancer medical treatments,” but remained skeptical. However, Prescott said he and a team Tippens is putting together will collaborate to explore alternative care methods. “It would be a wonderful thing if we discovered that there is this compound that has broad activity with dramatic responses like with Mr. Tippens, what a great thing that would be,” he said. Prescott said they plan to spend six to 12 months researching the medical records of cancer patients. In their study, they will consider specifics such as the treatment they received, how they reacted and how long they were given to live. By studying Tippens’ case further, Prescott said they could provide more truth to the dog dewormer medicinal impact. One problem made evident by some anticancer medications is that over time they become ineffective, he said. It is the reason why patients today are seeking other treatments. Most anticancer drugs attack a specific target on or in the cancer cell, he explained. “What often happens is that it works initially and then quits working,” Prescott said. “And the reason is the cancer has continued to change and have additional mutations, so what was the initial targets no longer respond to the drug.” Part of Tippens’ treatment regimen was CBD. Chip Paul, the founder of Owasso-based GnuPharma, a company that specializes in developing natural products, said he is unsure how influential CBD alone was on Tippens’ cancer cells. “If he was just taking cannabidiol, it is doubtful that it affected his cancer because it does not have the right actives in it to be able to signal that,” Paul said. Prescott said as the clinical trial develops, he hopes that it will eventually lead to answers regarding Tippens’ shocking recovery. “I do really applaud Mr. Tippens for his forthrightness and aggressive stance for something he believes has helped him and can help us as a people,” Prescott said. “He has done more than any patient has done in that regard.”
hanniabu 7y ago
Click the "web" link below the link to the story and select another source
echelon 7y ago
This is one of the many viable options US companies have for dealing with EU traffic. GDPR compliance can be extremely expensive to implement, especially for complex software comprised of thousands of microservices that handle customer data. And imagine working in an industry where data retention is legally mandated by other jurisdictions... I'm not saying GDPR is bad (I'm all in favor!), but the costs can be quite large to implement to the letter of the law (GDPR export requirements, etc)
- rlpb 7y ago
  > GDPR compliance can be extremely expensive to implement... Bullshit. It's trivial to implement. Don't store my personal data. Done. It may be extremely expensive to store and process my personal data and remain GDPR compliant, if you insist on doing that. And admittedly it may be expensive to store and process others' personal data while excluding EU citizens from that mechanism. But the blanket statement "GDPR compliance can be extremely expensive to implement" is on its own extremely misleading in this context. > And imagine working in an industry where data retention is legally mandated by other jurisdictions... Perhaps, but this is not relevant to a news organisation publishing a general article online from the USA, where (AFAIK) there is no such data retention requirement in any jurisdiction within the USA.
  - sagebird 7y ago
    It is not trivial for publishers who have years of adding advertising and analytics tools to their website to come up with a strategy for peeling these back or checking compliance. If I had a blog, it would be easy for me to check and decide what to remove or modify. But being part of an organization means that most of the shit on a publisher’s network is a manager’s baby project and is going to require meetings, ego stroking, and if you suggest a change then revenue drops, you will be prime suspect. Not to mention months of managers saying — “well we used to have this really great analytics platform that helped me steer this company but now I can’t do my job because so and so deactivated X”. For many of the tools you might have a contract with a company to provide service. They have people specifically hired to be persuasive calling your leadership to try to keep the relationship going, so they will fight to keep you as a customer. I think the interesting thing is that you can’t pass the buck, you are ultimately responsible for providing compliance, not just choosing tools that claim compliance.
bryanrasmussen 7y ago
As I was trying to find a non gdpr resistant news article I happened to come across this https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9344028/cocaine-rot-skin-genitals-drug-cut-cattle-dewormer/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9344028/cocaine-rot-skin-genit... "COKE ROT Cocaine can ROT your skin and genitals – as drug is cut with dangerous cattle de-wormer, experts warn" the interesting thing is in the article it says cocaine can be cut with Levamisole, which: was used to treat arthritis and bowel cancer in the past, but it was banned for use by humans in 2000....Now, it's only supposed to be used in veterinary medicine to kill parasitic worms.
- cwkoss 7y ago
  I wonder if cocaine users have lower incidences of certain kinds of cancers? Would be an interesting thing to look for in large epidemiological studies.
Chris_Chambers 7y ago
How can countries even be accurately detected? IP lookup table? Blindly guessing based on the Accept-Language header?
tass 7y ago
Does this kind of action actually absolve them of GDPR responsibilities? If an EU citizen/resident/etc accessed the site from a country that’s not blocked, or via VPN, are they unable to ask for their information or have it scrubbed? What if a person later becomes an EU citizen? What if they are a dual citizen? I don’t understand how these geo blockers are able to make anyone compliant.
- cheald 7y ago
  > Does this kind of action actually absolve them of GDPR responsibilities? All the rest of our laws travel with jurisdictions, not with individuals' citizenship status. The GDPR doesn't really have any standing to impose obligations on companies that refuse to do business inside EU jurisdictions. We won't know until it's tested in court, but demonstrating a best effort to keep your product out of EU jurisdiction seems like a pretty good first defense.
  - ivolimmen 7y ago
    But if a EU citizen has an account already they are bound to the GDPR. Blocking this account only makes it worse (legally).
    - cheald 7y ago
      The GDPR might assert that they're bound, but an Oklahoma-based business with no business presence or assets inside the EU isn't bound by EU law. This is pretty much the foundation of national sovereignty. How would an EU enforcer actually enforce the GDPR in this case? Unless there's been a violation of a trade agreement, any attempt to apply EU law to a US-based company operating on US soil is going to be utterly impotent.
      - mattlondon 7y ago
        No any company that deals with people in the EU (even non-EU citizens physically in the EU) needs to obey GDPR - simple site explaining it simply here: https://www.compliancejunction.com/countries-subject-gdpr-privacy-law/ https://www.compliancejunction.com/countries-subject-gdpr-pr... Geo location for IPs is a very inexact science so they almost certainly are processing EU citizens' data. Hell I can access it with a VPN while sat in the EU so yep, they are liable if they store anything about me (apparently IP addresses are considered PII in terms of GDPR too) No idea how they'd enforce it - various murky-references to "international law" are floating around. I guess these sort of things are covered in trade treaties etc like with patents and copyright etc.
hrbf 7y ago
I'm pretty sure this is a wrong use of the spirit of HTTP code 451. It is meant for censorship by external forces like governments. If you block people from legislations that don’t allow invasive tracking by default, it’s you doing the censorship, for economic gain no less.

apo 7y ago

This story is very poorly organized. The structure is especially bad for scientific subjects because crucial details can be obfuscated. Take this one for example, which appears well into the article: > Part of Tippens’ treatment regimen was CBD. Nowhere does the article describe in one place exactly what the treatment regimen was. Was it just CBD + fenbendazole or other components? When did the CBD begin? Even the nature of the trial (?) that Tippens was part of (or not) during his cure is cloudy.

diyseguy 7y ago
In the linked blog post, he details his regimen Tocotrienol and Tocopherol forms (all 8) of Vitamin E (400-800mg per day, 7 days a week). A product called Gamma E by Life Extension or Perfect E are both great. Bio-Available Curcumin (600mg per day, 2 pills per day 7 days a week). A product called Theracurmin HP by Integrative Therapeutics is bioavailable., and CBD oil (1-2 droppers-ful [equal to 25mg per day] under the tongue, 7 days a week) oil Panacur C (fenbendazole) (1 GRAM PER DAY FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS) per week. Take 4 days off and repeat each week. Each gram of Panacur C has approximately 222 mg of fenbendazole, https://www.mycancerstory.rocks/single-post/2016/08/22/Shake-up-your-life-how-to-change-your-own-perspective https://www.mycancerstory.rocks/single-post/2016/08/22/Shake...
lostlogin 7y ago
> This story is very poorly organized. It wasn’t as awkward as that opening photo.

lazyjones 7y ago

Seems to be the same as this: https://www.odditycentral.com/news/man-claims-cheap-dog-deworming-medicine-cured-his-terminal-cancer.html https://www.odditycentral.com/news/man-claims-cheap-dog-dewo... Apologies if this is stolen content etc. but I can't read the original in the EU apparently.

ricardobeat 7y ago
This URL also returns “Not found” in the EU.
- lazyjones 7y ago
  Sorry, I removed 1 character too much when I cut off the tracking stuff. It's .html, not .htm (fixed).

jcims 7y ago

This might be the paper from Johns Hopkins: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/

HarryHirsch 7y ago
Looks like it. The hypothesis is not completely far out, the benzimidazoles interfere with microtubule assembly, and some chemotherapeutic agents in clinical practice (taxol, the vinca alcaloids) do the same. The strange thing is that the affinity of benzimidazole anthelmintics to mammalian tubulin is much lower than to roundworm tubulins, but as we say, more research is needed.

sillypudding 7y ago

[Speculation] This is interesting to me because Crohn’s Disease (and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in general) is known to respond to certain antibiotics such as Metronidazole and Ciprofloxacin [1]. Maybe a analogous action is at play here. [1] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inflammatory_bowel_disease_center/about_ibd/index.html https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/inflammatory_bowel_disease_c...

ionwake 7y ago
could it also improve athritic conditions? I have heard they are related to gut biome aswell
pojzon 7y ago
Not sure if I understood correctly. Metronidazol helps to keep inflammation at bay ? Im asking because I was taking this antibiotic and Ive seen huge change in my skin inflammation, joint pains and bowel pains.
- rubyfan 7y ago
  Change for better or for worse?
  - pojzon 7y ago
    For better, funny enough I got it for completely different condition.
    - rubyfan 7y ago
      Did the cipro help long term or only during the treatment?
- WalterSear 7y ago
  Is Psoriasis a bowel disease? Successful treatment with bile acids and bioflavonoids suggests it is. https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2018.03.011 https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2018.03.011 Fwiw: The article actually suggests that Psoriasis, (and IMHO, by extension, potentially autoimmune disease in general), are associated with liver dysfunction, driven by bowel disease.

tepidandroid 7y ago

Not to oversimplify the complexities of cancer or anything, but for some reason, Peter Hintjens’ (creator of zeromq) suspicions about the primary cause of his own cancer came to mind after reading this [1]. ”As for not getting cancer… the probable cause in my case was a parasite called a liver fluke, which attaches to the bile duct and produces carcinogens. Nature is nice like that. The parasite comes from farmed fresh-water fish. The cancer I had is a major cause of death in SE Asia. I think it was cheap sushi that almost killed me.” [1] http://hintjens.com/blog:109 http://hintjens.com/blog:109

hammock 7y ago
Liver flukes have an outsized impact on Americans as well, specifically Vietnam vets: https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veterans.html https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veter... To avoid them, make sure freshwater fish in SE Asia is fully cooked.
caymanjim 7y ago
Adding this of my list of things to ask my doctor about next time I'm there. I've spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and a smaller amount of time in Africa and India. I'll spare the details, but in addition to having already been treated for lymphoma (which I have no reason to believe was parasitic in origin), I've got various intestinal and other chronic symptoms that have no obvious cause (and aren't debilitating enough to warrant a massive array of tests). Mostly I'm just curious. I've absolutely eaten enormous amounts of questionable meat and fish, and poorly-washed produce.
bobowzki 7y ago
Thanks, I really enjoyed that blog post!
nathan_f77 7y ago
Thanks for your comment! I've been living in SE Asia for a few years, but I don't think I've eaten any raw freshwater fish. I eat a lot of sushi, but that's always saltwater fish. Anyway, I'll make sure I get checked for liver flukes.

sansnomme 7y ago

Fun fact: there's a vaccine for Lyme disease too.

bdamm 7y ago
A safe one?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

chiefalchemist 7y ago

Probably not a popular position here on HN but I'm becoming more and more intrigued by the power of a placebo. Furthermore, it's possible we are often undermining a placebo's power but telling ourselves it's science and only science that can save us - even tho', trust is, the placebo effect is very real. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/melanie-warner-the-magic-feather-effect/586012/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/melanie...

warent 7y ago
I'm not sure why it wouldn't be a popular position. There are countless scientific studies demonstrating the efficacy of placebo. The human mind is a powerful thing.
- chiefalchemist 7y ago
  -3 votes. HN is so predictable sometimes.
  - warent 7y ago
    I don't think it's because you're saying placebo is powerful. It's because you're anecdotally suggesting that there's some group of people who think that placebo has no place in science, and then you're connecting that hypothetical group of people to the HN community. The predictability is a good thing I think. If you fart in an elevator, people will predictably be disgusted. It's about social expectations.
    - chiefalchemist 7y ago
      ". It's because you're anecdotally suggesting that there's some group of people who think that placebo has no place in science, " I'm suggesting that __science__ has suggested (to some people) that - despite the science - the placebo has no place in solutions/cures. That science is the only hope. Not only does that subvert placebos, it's self-fulfilling for science. The problem is, science's success rate still comes up shorts. That's not anecdotal.

wbhart 7y ago

I once saw a case on a conspiracy forum of a guy who claimed that taking worming tablets had cured his cancer. It wasn't a clear case to me, as he'd also been taking traditional chemo. His doctors apparently told him that the worm tablets he was taking were harmless and he could go on taking them, but the doctor didn't think it had any effect on his cancer. The real issue I have with this sort of reporting is that the plural of anecdote is not data. If 1% of people with a given kind of cancer will survive, and some percentage of them take alternative medicines, then a smaller, but nonzero, percentage of people will believe they were cured by taking just about anything. Controlled, double blind, randomized trials are the only way we can know whether these anecdotes have anything to them.

tomohawk 7y ago
Agree with the studies, but the singular of data is not "cure" or "safe". A substance that is shown to be beneficial in general may not be beneficial for you, and may even be harmful for you. I have a family member who cannot take various common medicines, not because of the active ingredient (which they need) but because of the inactive ones which are generally considered safe. Conversely, it is possible for a substance which is not shown to have a general effect in a study to have an effect specifically for a person or small group of people. Discounting this and hiding behind "evidence based medicine" is not helpful.
jcims 7y ago
Unfortunately there appear to be zero references to this drug at clinicaltrials.gov.
londons_explore 7y ago
> Controlled, double blind, randomized trials are the only way we can know whether these anecdotes have anything to them. The problem is they're too damn expensive. There is a huge number of people willing to put almost anything in their body in the hope it might help (animal remedies, herbs, homeopathic remedies, etc). If we could harness these people into cheap double-blind trials, we could advance science much quicker and cheaper. I'm thinking something along the lines of "you tell us what pseudoscience remedy you want, and we'll return either it or a placebo with 50/50 chance, and then you self-report the results to us".

izuchukwu 7y ago

It does appear that anti-cancer effects have been discovered in research in both Fenbendazole [0][1][2], the treatment that he used, as well as related anti-helmintics like Flubendazole [3], specifically when paired with certain vitamins like Vitamin E rather than when administered alone. Flubendazole’s particularly interesting as it’s already FDA-approved for human use. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687140/ [1]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30158-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30158-6 [2]:https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/03/406321/deworming-pill-may-be-effective-treating-liver-cancer https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/03/406321/deworming-pill-may-... [3]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25811972/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25811972/