A Preliminary Study on the Anticancer Properties of Oxytocin: A Neuroendocrine Regimen with Oxytocin, Antitumor Pineal Indoles, and Cannabidiol in Untreatable Advanced Cancer Patients Progressing on Pineal Indoles and Cannabidiol Alone

Institute of Biological Medicine, Milan, Italy.

*Corresponding author: Paolo Lissoni, Institute of Biological Medicine, Milan, Italy.

Received: June 25, 2019
Published: September 27, 2019

ABSTRACT

The recent discovery of several endogenous and exogenous anticancer non-toxic molecules has allowed the possibility to administer potential anticancer curative regimens also in patients, who would be generally considered as eligible for the only palliative therapy. Within the anticancer molecules of the human body, it has been shown that the pineal indole hormones and the endocannabinoid agents may play an anticancer activity against most tumor histotypes through several mechanisms, including cytotoxic, anti-angiogenic and immunostimulatory effect on the anticancer immunity, and to prolong the survival time in advanced cancer patients eligible for the only supportive care. In fact, cancer progression has appeared to be associated with a progressive decline in the functionless of the pineal gland and endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid brain activity may be enhanced by the non-psychoactive principle of the cannabis plant, the cannabidiol (CBD), because of its capacity of inhibiting the enzyme involved in cannabinoid degradation, the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). Moreover, the neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin (OXY) has recently appeared to play an anticancer activity, namely in breast cancer, including the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), gynecologic tumors and brain neoplasms, and its production would be abnormally low in advanced cancer patients. On these bases, a study was planned to establish whether the concomitant administration of OXY may again determine a control of cancer progression in patients eligible for the only palliative therapy after their progression on therapy with the only pineal hormones plus CBD. The study was limited to tumor histotypes potentially responsive to OXY, including breast cancer, gynecolgic tumors and brain glioblastoma (GMB). The study included 14 consecutive patients (gynecologic tumors: 7; TNBC: 4; GBM: 3). The pineal indoles melatonin (MLT) and 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MTT) were given orally at 100 mg/day in the dark period, and at 10 mg/day in the light period, respectively. CBD was also given orally at 10 mg twice/day. Finally, OXY was given orally at 2 mg twice/day in a gastroprotected form. A stable disease (SD) was achieved in 8/14 (57%) patients (gynecologic tumors: 5; TNBC: 2; GBM: 1), whereas 6 patients had a progressive disease (PD). The percentage of 1-year survival obtained in patients with SD was significantly higher than that found in patients with PD. Moreover, a clear improvement in mood, social relationships and pleasure perception was observed in 9/14 (64%) patients under OXY administration. These preliminary results would furtherly confirm the possibility to obtain a control of the neoplastic growth also in advanced cancer patients eligible for the only supportive care alone by simply correcting the main cancer- progression-related endogenous neuroendocrine deficiencies, including pineal hormones, endocannabinoid system and OXY secretion.

Keywords: Cancer progression, Cannabinoids, Oxytocin, Palliative therapy, Pineal hormones