Systemic Enzyme Therapy for Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that begins in the white blood cells known as plasma cells, according to MedlinePlus. Over time the malignant cells build up in the solid parts of your bones as well as in your bone marrow. Systemic enzyme therapy, pioneered in the early 20th century by embryologist Dr. John Beard, is viewed with skepticism by most conventional medical practitioners. However, there is growing evidence that the treatment may help fight some cancers, including myeloma.

What It Is

• Associated primarily with complementary/alternative medical practice, systemic enzyme therapy involves taking supplements of plant or animal enzymes, or both, to bolster the beneficial effects of the enzymes produced by your own body. These enzymes facilitate digestion and the absorption of nutrients that your body needs to function and fight off disease, according to ThinkQuest's Alternative Medicine Therapies website. According to advocates of enzyme therapy, the need for supplementation increases as you grow older and your body's production of these vital substances begins to decline.

Why So Little Press?

• You're probably wondering how effective enzyme therapy could be because you've never heard much about it before. On his website, NewsWithViews.com, Dr. Jim Howenstine, a practicing internist who's also an outspoken supporter of enzyme therapy, offers his views on why this treatment method gets so little attention in the United States. He argues that American medicine by and large shuns this form of therapy because it was developed primarily in Far East and Europe. Perhaps even more significant, according to Howenstine, is the fact that "enzymes cannot be patented so they are of little interest to drug companies."

Evidence of Effectiveness

• To learn more about the various applications of enzyme therapy and how, if at all, they might benefit you, pay a visit to the Enzyme Therapy website. There you'll find an article by Lucia Desser, PhD, a longtime researcher with the University of Vienna's Cancer Research Institute. Desser reports on the results of a European study in which enzyme therapy was used in combination with chemotherapy to treat patients with myeloma. The study group consisted of 265 patients, 166 of whom were treated with both chemotherapy and enzyme therapy and 99 of whom received only chemo. The mean survival time of patients who received combination therapies was 83 months, compared with only 47 months for those getting chemo alone.

ACS Still Not on Board

• If you're thinking about seeking enzyme therapy for yourself or a loved one, you first should consider the views of the American Cancer Society (ACS) on this form of treatment. Despite the encouraging results shown in European studies of enzyme therapy, the ACS is not yet convinced that there is any merit in enzyme therapy. On its website, the ACS reports that an American study on the effectiveness of the combination chemo-enzyme therapy treatment is under way. However, for now, it concludes that "available scientific evidence does not support claims that enzyme supplements are effective in treating cancer."