Spontaneous regression of a malignant primary bone tumour

The Miraculous Cure of a Sarcoma of the Pelvis: Cure of Vittorio Micheli at Lourdes

In April 1962, Vittorio Micheli, a soldier in the Italian Army, developed rapidly increasing pain in his left buttock region. X-rays of the left hip showed osteolysis involving the ilium and the roof of the acetabulum. A biopsy of the gluteal muscle showed cells of a sarcomatous character. He was not deemed to be a candidate for medical intervention, so neither radiotherapy nor chemotherapy was offered to him. In May 1963, racked with pain and unable to walk, he made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, following which he was cured of his sarcoma. His case was reviewed by the International Medical Committee of Lourdes in 1969 and in 1971. There was unanimous agreement that this was a medically inexplicable cure.

Spontaneous regression of osteosarcoma in four dogs

Spontaneous regression of primary malignant bone tumors is rare but has been reported in the human literature. To the authors' knowledge, spontaneous regression of primary bone tumors in dogs or cats has not been reported. Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary bone tumor in humans, and it has been reported that the incidence of OSA is 40 to 50 times greater in dogs than humans. In this report, high-grade OSA was diagnosed in biopsy specimens obtained from 4 dogs that subsequently underwent spontaneous regression without tumor-specific treatment. Osteosarcoma in dogs has characteristics similar to that of OSA in humans.

Spontaneous regression of lung metastases from osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND

Spontaneous regression of malignancy is infrequent, but in osteosarcoma, such occurrence is extremely rare. Through a survey of many university hospitals and cancer centers in Japan, two patients with such regression were found.

METHODS

In both patients, radiograms of the primary sites and histologic specimens were studied carefully for accurate diagnosis. The clinical records, serum alkaline phosphatase values, and changes in the pulmonary metastasis on chest radiograms were followed for 26 years and 13 years, respectively. In the second patient, metastatic lesions were studied histologically.

RESULTS

The patients, a 19-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy each with osteosarcoma in the distal femur. Each was treated by amputation. Pulmonary metastases were found on routine checkup 5 months and 12 months after the surgery, respectively, despite adjuvant chemotherapy. The metastatic nodules of both patients became denser and smaller 12 and 5 months, respectively, after detection, and the alkaline phosphatase concentration returned to normal, without special treatment. To date, the patients are alive and well. In the second patient, histologic examination of the metastatic nodules showed no remarkable infiltration of lymphocytes that would suggest an immunologic response; however there was florid bone formation indicating maturation of the tumor cells.

CONCLUSION

Cases that have been reported as spontaneous regression of pulmonary metastases from osteosarcoma often show equivocal pathologic or clinical signs, and some have shown only temporary regression of the lesions. The two patients presented here are unique, however, because they had a definite diagnosis of osteosarcoma and showed extraordinarily long-lasting regression, which presumably occurred spontaneously, not as a direct effect of chemotherapy.

Can cancer be cured by meditation and "natural therapy"? A critical review of the book You can conquer cancer by Ian Gawler

There is a widespread belief that cancer is caused, at least in part, by aberrant mental processes. A corollary of this belief is that cancer may be cured by the application of the mind. These ideas are fostered in Australia by a popular book You can conquer cancer by Ian Gawler, a veterinary surgeon who attributes, at least in part, the development and subsequent cure of his own cancer to such processes. Critical examination of these beliefs finds evidence in their support to be lacking. None the less, many patients with cancer in this country follow the book's advice, often on the basis that it "at least can do no harm". While some patients may be aided to come to terms with their disease and to lead more fulfilling lives by taking up meditation and the positive approach to living that is described in the book, it also contains recommendations about orthodox treatments, life-style and diet which, if adopted uncritically, could be quite detrimental. The potentially harmful effects of accepting such unproved ideas about cancer need to be known more widely. Furthermore, because his ideas are making such an impact on the day-to-day treatment of cancer in this country, Gawler owes it to the community to justify, with evidence, his claims that by meditation patients with cancer may be enabled to achieve a cure of their disease in a way that is unattainable with orthodox medical treatment alone.