This is a must read for those interested in cancer.
The author uses a historical framework to explain the science, and makes a strong case for cancer as a metabolic disease (as contrasted to a genetic one). More importantly, cures are to come from studies of metabolism, rather than from narrowly targeted treatments aimed as particular mutations.
The treatment is historical, telling the story through the great researchers and their findings, using their stories to explain the science. This makes the book very readable. Telling these stories is not necessary to understanding the science, but it may be necessary to understanding why, and when it was accepted.
After running through various historical figures, such as Warburg (who got his Nobel prize for demonstrating the metabolic abnormality of cancer), the story moves to various interesting modern figures.
By page 93, he reaches the research in Pedersen's lab at John Hopkins University, and the story of the bright Korean biochemist, Young He Ko. She discovers that a simple chemical, 3-bromopyruvate, kills cancer cells better and quicker than most chemotherapy drugs. She achieves the almost unprecedented feat of curing cancers in all of 19 rats, who remain free of their original cancers to the end of their natural life.
One would expect to learn how she got a professorship, fame, and lots of research money. Instead, the academic politics at John Hopkins results in her being terminated, and a law suit, leaving the breakthrough unexploited. (Some believe that this will provide the plot for a movie, and speculate as to which actress should play Dr. Ko). For now, it just makes part of the book read like a novel.
There is drama (starting on p. 109) when the father of a teenager near death from liver cancer hears of the new drug, and obtains approval for it to be administered in Germany (approved only because it was his only hope of evading his impending death). The unemployed biochemist travels there, and waits nervously while the first human receives it. He was being kept alive by tube feeding. There are no serious side effects, and he asks to eat. The outcome is that instead of not surviving to his 17th birthday as the doctor's predicted, he recovers enough to go to John Hopkins Medical school to lecture, reaches his 18th birthday (a party which the still unemployed Dr. Ko attends). Alas, he eventually dies from an unrelated pneumonia, but the drug had achieved a "miraculous" cure. Heart breaking drama here.
The story then moves on to the cutting edge research on the genetics of cancer, and how when the genomes of various tumors were sequenced, there was found there was no pattern to the mutations, creating an embarrassment for those whose careers had been based on the genetic theory of cancer.
Naturally those who had dedicated their career to cancer as a genetic disease were disappointed, and elaborate new theories, but several of the leaders have shifted their focus to metabolism. Although it is easy to say the hundreds of millions spend on genetic research was wasted, it was something that should have been done, and it appears we now know approaches that do not work.
As a subplot (p152) is the story of James Watson (whose Nobel prize was for discovering the genetic code) and his shift from emphasis on genetics (which naturally served his self interest), to efforts to get the Ko formulation, and him expressing support for the metabolic theory (when famous geneticists abandon the genetic theory, it is more convincing).
The story moves on to Dr. Seyfried (p. 167) and how he drifts into cancer research on discovering that starving mice slowed tumor growth, and a drug that seemed effective against cancer actually seemed to work by stopping the mice from eating as much (the control mice not given the drug died much quicker, but control mice restricted to eating only as much as the treated mice chose to eat, did just as well).
This resulted in the publication of a path breaking book, The Metabolic Theory of Cancer. " While this is a very good book, and a must read for professional cancer researchers, the biochemistry is tough for non-professionals. For laymen, one can get an understanding from "Tripping over the Truth" with much less work.
Even the professional may find that the historical narrative of this book makes it easier to understand Seyfried's book (
Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer
), with much less work, and without being lost in the details. Such reader's may wish to skip the first two parts, which provide historical and scientific background).
Christofferson's book is cheaper, slightly more up to date (in a field that is moving fast, partially due to Seyfried's recent book), and more fun to read. After reading Christoffer's account of how Seyfried came to write his book, and what he found, the professionals will be motivated to read the more technical book written by the great scientist himself.
Dr. Seyfried explores ketones as the explanation for why calorie restriction works, and shows that a ketogenic diet can be effective (at least in mice). The story moves on to the history ketogenic diets, and to a Florida researcher, D'gostino (p.211), who gets good results in mice from such a diet, especially when combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Small scale human tests of ketogenic diets for brain cancers begin (p. 196) and produce encouraging results.
Since many reading this review will be those suffering from cancer, what are the conclusions for such patients The first is the high potential of 3-bromopyruvate. Patients should not rush out and try to get this and treat themselves. If incorrectly formulated, it could be fatal. However, they should keep their eyes open for trials (which are overdue, but virtually certain to come). Those with advance, metastatic cancer should try to be included, even if this requires traveling overseas, and paying their own expenses.
The preliminary evidence is that a ketogenic diet is beneficial, and the book includes an appendix on "Putting Metabolic Therapy to Work". If I was dying from cancer, I would certainly try this.
What are the weak points in the book?
One is that it lacks an index (so those interested in a particular topic can find it). Even the chapter headings and table of contents are non-informative. This is why I mentioned page numbers above.
While it has a list of sources in the back, it is not as well documented as a researcher would want. Fortunately, more can be found in Seyfried's book.
It is clear from the sources he gives, that much of his information derives from traveling around the country interviewing the researchers themselves. This permits him to provide the background that makes the book so readable (even novel like). A benefit of these interviews is that he sometimes mentions results that have not yet been written up and published. This could be valuable to researchers and funders wanting to know what is going on in a fast moving field.
Those interested in the history and politics of science will enjoy the stories of the researchers, and how what should have been obvious leads and inconsistencies were not followed up on. It also becomes clear how problems of funding, human egos and ambitions, and desire not to confess to having wasting time on exploring a blind alley (even though this may keep others from wasting time by going down the same blind alley) has impeded research. Possible cures that are hard to make money from such as 3-bromopyruvate (a known chemical that cannot be patented) and nutritional approaches are not as promptly followed up on as those that can result in a highly profitable drug of marginal use (and he points just how marginal many of the hyped drugs are).
Those in funding positions (government, foundations, and those with money to donate) would benefit from reading this book and thinking about the implications. Drug companies naturally would like funding decisions that lead to new drugs them to patent and market, and research that shows the utility of their products (and lobby for such). However, much higher returns should result from research private firms are unlikely to pursue, research on unpatentable molecules like 3-bromopyruvate, and nutritional therapies.
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Reviews with images
Will Dogma pave the way to your death?
Dogma ... it's apparent in many disciples and it guards against any new thoughts and changes. When profit and careers are on the line, the dogma is deeper and stronger. However when you have over 1,600 people dying each day, even the most guarded, entrenched and well funded dogma will be challenged. Especially when results can be proven.QUESTION: If a 125 Billion dollar industry could be reduced to a 100 Million dollar industry, would that happen? Ponder that for a moment.What does the Travis Christofferson's book Tripping Over the Truth offer you? Hope? A new view? A breath of fresh air? I would contend all the above and more. What we have is one more little hammer hitting on the impervious wall of the Cancer Dogma of the medical and pharmaceutical industry. They are not going to be happy about embracing it, even it's for "the better of all mankind". All textbooks, all medical teachings, all references treat cancer as a genetic issue, ALL OF THEM. But to discover that what a brilliant scientist in the 1920s postulated about the true nature of cancer seems to be vindicated on every turn. Even though this truth has been ignored for almost a hundred years.We both have buried loved ones who have died from this hideous disease. We've watched them get cut, burned and poisoned and then after suffering so much, we have watched them die. Even now I have loved ones I care deeply about that are marching down this path but they have full faith in the medical doctor that is pumping the mustard gas decedent into their veins, cutting out parts of their bodies or throwing the switch to burn their bodies with radiation.Now the cancer industry has been boiled down to "are you just unlucky?" ... good luck.After reading this book I would ask you this: are you willing to risk being a contrarian, risk being a maverick, risk the idea that there is a path to life that means beating cancer? - then I encourage you to get Tripping Over the Truth, digging through YouTube for Thomas Seyfried's work and deciding that you will not be a statistic in the loosing "war on cancer". Don't let well meaning people drag you down to standard medical procedure of documented failure, don't be one of the over 1,600 people each day who die from cancer. You do not have to accept the dogma of the somatic mutation theory of cancer, attack it on a metabolic level!!If you will take a moment to study the uploaded photo and to understand what it's showing, it will go a long ways of making the truth about cancer much more clear. (ref: Seyfried, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease, 2012 John Wiley Press; Seyfried et al., Carcinogenesis)
Top reviews from other countries
Spyyryt
Génétique ou systémique? Quelle est l'origine du cancer?
Reviewed in France on January 7, 2021
Oscar A. Pacheco
Grandes Esperanças no Tratamento do Câncer!
Reviewed in Brazil on May 8, 2018UBGeoff
Dr. Young Ko's 12 patient Clinical Trial
Reviewed in Canada on March 16, 2016