Arrested Development of Cancer | Spontaneous Remission Database

Abstract

A case of arrested development of cancer of the breast with metastases to the liver and intestines is reported. The author discusses the possible connection between regression and the ascitic fluid and mentions the cases and experiments of Hodenpyl, specifically a case of cancer of the breast with many recurrences in which the metastases disappeared. Hodenpyl does not say in his report whether the patient began to improve before any ascitic fluid was withdrawn. But she did improve, and four years after the first operation the tumor in the liver and the tumors in neck and chest had disappeared but the chyliform ascites remained. Hodenpyl used this ascitic fluid first on mice with implanted and spontaneous tumors. The results noted were marked necrosis and diminution of their size, or a complete disappearance. He next tried the injection of the fluid on man, into the tissue of the tumor, and intravenously. He says, “In all cases the tumors have grown smaller; in some cases disappeared altogether. In no instance has any other tissue in the body other than the tumor shown the least reaction after the injections, nor have any systemic effects been manifest after large venous infusion.”

Case Details

Personal Characteristics

Mrs. S., aged 48, german, married; one child 12 years old. Only one pregnancy. Father died at age of 72 with cancer of the stomach. Mother and brothers and sisters all living and well.

Clinical Characteristics

In december 1908, she noticed a small tumor in the lower inner quadrant of the right breast. It was not painful. It grew slowly and in february, 1911, she began to suffer pain in her back and middorsal region, more intense on left side and much more painful at night. June 1911, the tumor began to grow rapidly.

Remission Characteristics

After the last withdrawal of the fluid, march 14, 1913, there was no return of the ascites, the edema disappeared rapidly, the urine increasing in quantity; the general pain and distress subsided, appetite and sleep returned, the metastases melted down until the growth on the forehead became small as a bean and the lymph glands but slightly larger than normal.

Treatment & Mechanisms

Proposed Remission Mechanisms

While the experimental evidence is against the ascitic fluid having any curative influence, it is hard to divorce in one’s mind the sequence of events. From december 17 to march 14, a period of 86 days, an average of 47 ounces of ascitic fluid collected in her abdomen each day, assuming no absorption. Suddenly the accumulation of fluid ceased and the patient began to improve. The hemorrhages into the abdomen, which occurred in december and february, may have been factors in bringing about the improvement. Autolytic changes in the ascitic fluid may have given rise to protective substances whether in the nature of antibodies, enzymes, cytolysins, or slats of the metals that, acting upon the tumor cells, may have caused the retrogression noted.

Clinical Treatment

On august 19, 1911, i removed the tumor with the pectoral muscles, enlarged lymphatics and vessel sheaths. The tumor consisted of one large cancerous mass at the site first noted and several other nodules in the gland tissue. The liver extended 1 1/2 inches below costal margins. The recovery of patient was uneventful, with the exception of continued pain in back. Dullness, bronchial respiration with moist rales appeared in base of left lung. This disappeared in about five weeks. Three weeks after the operation she developed severe constipation, which cleared up but returned in april 1912, necessitating relief. A thin-walled cyst containing a colloid material was bound to the ileum by a jackson’s membrane. Removal of both gave her complete relief.

Additional Notes

The case is a common one, insofar as it represents the history of cancer of the breast in the lower inner quadrant, with metastases in the liver and intestine, which had occurred before the operation as shown by no local recurrences. It is remarkable for the rapidity of development of the ascitic fluid, for the degree of exhaustion before improvement and the rapid recovery with sudden cessation of ascites.