Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy suppresses cancer growth

Low oxygen levels within tumor cells (tumor hypoxia) is a major signal for these cancer cells to produce more blood vessels (angiogenesis) and rapidly grow. Not only does that make them much more aggressive, but it also makes them much more resistant to both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This is truly a dangerous combination and why there has been so much attention in the medical field (and with oncologists) to reduce tumor hypoxia. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is one of the most effective, and most practical, ways to alleviate tumor hypoxia.

The protocol used in this study was a high pressure protocol at 2.5 ATA for 90 minutes, with treatments performed every 3rd day. The results were extremely promising and researchers concluded, “HBOT significantly suppressed tumor growth in both the triple positive and negative tumors…  Despite the fact that behavior and prognosis of the triple positive and negative subtypes of cancer are different, the HBOT had a similar suppressive effect on tumor growth, indicating that they share a common oxygen dependent anti-tumor mechanism. Furthermore, HBOT significantly reduced the number and area of metastatic lesions in the triple negative model.”

We have come a long way in our understanding of tumor growth, in relation to hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Since HBOT stimulates angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth), the long-standing concern was that this mechanism may stimulate the growth of new cancer cells through the same mechanism. Over, the last 2 decades, not only has this hypothesis clearly been refuted, but solid evidence, as demonstrated in this and many other studies, are making us shift our attention toward utilizing HBOT within many current cancer treatment programs <view study>