Treatment of a number of cancer patients suffering from different types of malignancies by methylglyoxal-based formulation: A promising results.


Authors :

Dipa Talukdar a, Subhankar Raya, Sanjoy Das b, A. K. Jain b, Arvind Kulkarnic and Manju Raya *. Lokmanya Medical Research Centre, Chinchwad, Pune – 411 033


*Corresponding Author: Dr. Manju Ray , E-mail: bcmr@mahendra.iacs.res.in


Abstract Background :


Previous in vitro and in vivo studies had shown remarkable anticancer effect of methylglyoxal. A recent toxicological study with four different species of animals has shown that methylglyoxal is potentially safe for human consumption (Ghosh M, Talukdar D, Ghosh S, Bhattacharya N, Ray M, Ray S Toxicol and Applied Pharmacol, in press). We have developed an anticancer formulation with methylglyoxal as the principal ingredient.


Patients and methods :


To test the efficacy of this formulation, 46 patients suffering from different types of malignancies in different stages of the disease were randomly chosen: brain – 2, head and neck – 2, gastrointestinal – 11, lung – 6, gynecological – 6, breast – 3, urological – 4, hematological – 2, prostate – 2, gall bladder – 1, pancreas – 2, others – 5. The effect of the formulation on overall survival, regression of the tumours and general well being of the patients were analyzed. The follow-up of the patients ranged from 4 – 56 months.


Results :


The results of the study show that 18 (39%) patients had complete remission, 18 (39%) patients had partial regression and/or stable disease condition, whereas 8 (17%) patients had progressive disease. In addition to the measurable improvement of the majority of the patients there was remarkable improvement in the quality of life of nearly all the patients. There was no significant adverse side effect in almost all the patients.


Conclusion :


The significant antitumour effect of methylglyoxal against a wide variety of cancer suggests that all the different types of cancer may have common altered site(s). Our next task will be to further improve this treatment and to evaluate its efficacy with a large number of patients.


Keywords Methylglyoxal • Ascorbic acid • Cancer patients’ treatment