Cancer is now the leading cause of death worldwide, and its incidence is still rising, so you would think if oncologists cared about their patients, they would employ everything possible to help their patients. Sadly, that is not the case. Despite compelling evidence from animal and human studies that hydrogen inhalation would greatly benefit cancer patients, oncologists in the West show no interest. However, hydrogen is a rising star in both general medicine and in the treatment of cancer.
With its potent antioxidant properties, hydrogen gas (H2) has been evaluated for a broad range of therapeutic indications. A simple search of “hydrogen gas” in various medical databases resulted in more than 2000 publications on hydrogen gas as a potential new drug substance. However, hydrogen is as old as the universe.
In the book “Hydrogen Cancer Control – Theory and Practice” by Professor Xu Kecheng, a well-known Chinese gastroenterologist and tumor treatment expert, it was found from 82 actual surveys of late-stage cancer patients[i] that inhaling a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen has a positive effect on cancer pain and sleep apnea. Symptoms such as disorders and loss of appetite are improved, the patient’s quality of life is enhanced to a certain extent, the side effects of chemotherapy are reduced, and it plays an auxiliary role in the decline of tumor markers and inhibits the growth rate of tumors. (You will be hearing a lot more about this fantastic medical book from me in the future.)
Because hydrogen molecules have a minimal mass and can reach inside cells to play a role, hydrogen can reduce the incidence of liver and colon cancer, prevent lung cancer and lung nodules caused by haze, prevent osteoporosis and atherosclerosis, and prevent various diseases.
Immune-modulating effects of H2 administration
have been observed in cancer patients.
Hydrogen exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that may be exploited to control cancer, the occurrence and progression of which is closely related to peroxidation and inflammation. Doctors in China conducted a prospective follow-up study of 82 patients with stage III and IV cancer treated with hydrogen inhalation, though 12 patients died in stage IV; after four weeks of hydrogen inhalation, patients reported significant improvements in fatigue, insomnia, anorexia, and pain. Furthermore, 41.5% of patients had improved physical status, with the best effect achieved in lung cancer patients and the poorest in pancreatic and gynecologic cancers.
Of the 80 cases with tumors visible in imaging, the total disease control rate was 57.5%, with complete and partial remission appearing at 21–80 days (median 55 days) after hydrogen inhalation. The disease control rate was significantly higher in stage III patients than in stage IV patients (83.0% and 47.7%, respectively).
Hydrogen inhalation is a simple, low-cost treatment with few adverse reactions that warrants use as a strategy for the clinical rehabilitation of patients with advanced cancer. Molecular hydrogen (H2) induces anti-proliferative, anti-oxidative, pro-apoptotic, and anti-tumoral effects. In a systematic review of molecular hydrogen therapy for cancer management, researchers found consistent findings demonstrating hydrogen inhalation has a promising therapeutic role as an independent therapy as well as an adjuvant in combination therapy, resulting in an overall improvement in survivability, quality of life, blood parameters, and tumor reduction.
Since the first publication on the potential therapeutic effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) in cancer management (1975), many studies have emerged to advance further and reinforce its practice in clinical settings. While the first two studies revolved around hydrogen’s effects on skin squamous carcinoma, researchers have gradually expanded its scope from its application on different types of cancer to various routes of administration to achieve its efficacy (Dole et al., 1975; Roberts et al., 1978. In the 1980s, studies were focused on hydrogen gas being used as a clearance method (Kiyotaki, 1988; Lee et al., 1989).
The most frequently used medical gases include medical air, oxygen, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide, and hydrogen gas (H2) is a promising newcomer with unique antioxidant properties. Demonstrated to selectively counteract harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as the hydroxyl radical, H2 can maintain tissue homeostasis and be more clinically useful than potent antioxidants indiscriminately neutralize beneficial and harmful ROS species.[ii]
Many researchers have found that hydrogen was effective in ROS-involved diseases (diabetes, kidney complication of renal dialysis, acute brain infarction, inflammatory diseases of skin, muscle, and joint, side effects of radiotherapy, skin wrinkles, and post-exercise fatigue) in animal models and patients. In particular, hydrogen gas, unlike conventional antioxidants, 1) quickly passes through the cell membrane and, thus, is distributed promptly to all organs and tissues of our body. 2) uniquely removes the most toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) of ROS, and 3) has no adverse or toxic effects with doses (0.4 and 1.6 ppm) used in all experiments reported.[iii]
One clinical study including 58 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer reported in 2020 that H2 therapy was able to relieve pulmonary symptoms compared to a control group that received no treatment. The hydrogen group was administered H2 by inhalation for 4–5 h per day for five months. The same hydrogen treatment was also given to non-small cell lung cancer patients in combination with either chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy. After 16 months, the progression-free survival was higher for the hydrogen-only treatment group and significantly higher for all the combination-treatment groups compared to the control group.[iv]
Another trial reported the benefits of H2 treatment in 42 lung cancer patients treated with nivolumab, a cancer medication. Significantly longer overall survival was found for the combination treatment with H2 gas compared to those treated with nivolumab only. It was suggested that the two therapeutic agents might exhibit synergistic effects as mitochondrial activators.[v] It is reasonable to treat lung cancer with H2 inhalation to target the disease site, even though systemic effects have been observed. Other cancer types that have shown positive outcomes from H2 therapy by inhalation or drinking include liver, nasopharyngeal, and colorectal cancer[vi] , as well as head and neck cancer.
Interesting immune-modulating effects of H2 administration have been observed in cancer patients. A high proportion of immune cells of the type CD8+ T cells expressing the programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) is often seen in cancer patients and can be associated with poor cancer prognosis. PD-1 is an immune checkpoint receptor that guards against autoimmunity and is often involved in immunotherapy treatment (PD-1 inhibitors) as it makes the immune system “oversee” cancer cells. The administration of H2 has been shown to reduce the proportion of PD-1+ CD8+ T cells in the blood of cancer patients.
Clinical studies have investigated the effect of H2 on chemo- and radiotherapy-induced injuries. A study with 134 colorectal cancer patients found that hydrogen-rich water can alleviate mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy-induced liver injuries[vii]. Non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy treatment experienced a decrease in adverse events after H2 administration, and for some, it even disappeared[viii].
Hydrogen Inhalation Machines
I show three machines below from my hydrogen products site. The first two are 3000 ml machines, and the third 900 ml per minute. All three put out Brown’s gas, a mixture of 66% H2 and 33% O2. The 3-liter machines are more costly, but I recommend them for late-stage cancer patients because of their higher potency. However, if a person sleeps all night inhaling hydrogen, the 900 ml machines are sufficient.
The team of Xu Kecheng, a Chinese cancer expert, has always recommended that cancer or severely ill patients use a 3000ml hydrogen and oxygen machine. After over 2 years, they obtained research data from more than 5,000 hydrogen inhalation patients who used low-flow hydrogen and oxygen machines. Comparing the patient experience with the 3000ML hydrogen and oxygen machine, the effect achieved by the large-flow hydrogen and oxygen machine is utterly unmatched by the low-flow hydrogen machine.
Dr. Wellness 3000ml hydrogen oxygen inhalation does things no other machine has, like automatically adding/draining water, thus eliminating the trouble of manually adding water, which is impressive for the elderly and clinical and hospital use. It is perfect for two people to inhale hydrogen at the same time. It also has 16 different adjustable flow rates to meet the needs of different people, one machine for the whole family to share. Also, it has an oversized 4L capacity water tank and has adopted upgraded technology and a new anti-bacterial clean+UV disinfection system, meaning it says goodbye to the trouble of changing water. Though 500 dollars more than the below machine, at 3,999 dollars (including freight), it beats out lower output machines priced at 7,495 (discounted from 8,500 on my site) and an equal flow rate of 3000ml machine priced at 11,950.
[i] Ji-Bing Chen1, #, Xiao-Feng Kong2, #, You-Yong Lv3 , Shu-Cun Qin4 , Xue-Jun Sun5 , Feng Mu1 , Tian-Yu Lu1, 2, Ke-Cheng Xu1, 2, * 1 Department of Cancer Rehabilitation, Fuda Cancer Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China 2 Research Center of Hydrogen Medicine, Xukecheng Health Care Studio of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China 3 Molecular Biology Laboratory of Cancer Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China 4 Institute of Hydrogen Medicine, Shandong Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China 5 Institute of Diving Medicine, Navy Medical University, Shanghai, China
[ii] Zhang J.H., Matei N., Camara R. Emerging mechanisms and novel applications of hydrogen gas therapy. Med. Gas Res. 2018;8:98–102. doi: 10.4103/2045-9912.239959.
[iii] Myung-Hee Chung , 1,2 Jai Youl Ro 3 1 Department of Pharmacology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea 2 Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea 3 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University Natural Sciences Campus, Suwon, Korea
[iv] Xu, K.-C.; Chen, J.-B.; Kong, X.-F.; Mu, F.; Lu, T.-Y.; Lu, Y.-Y. Hydrogen therapy can be used to control tumor progression and alleviate the adverse events of medications in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Med. Gas Res. 2020, 10, 75–80.
[v] Akagi, J.; Baba, H. Hydrogen gas activates coenzyme Q10 to restore exhausted CD8+ T cells, especially PD-1+Tim3+terminal CD8+ T cells, leading to better nivolumab outcomes in patients with lung cancer. Oncol. Lett. 2020, 20, 258.
[vi] Kang, K.-M.; Kang, Y.-N.; Choi, I.-B.; Gu, Y.; Kawamura, T.; Toyoda, Y.; Nakao, A. Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on the quality of life of patients treated with radiotherapy for liver tumors. Med. Gas Res. 2011, 1, 11.
[vii] Yang Q., Ji G., Pan R., Zhao Y., Yan P. Protective effect of hydrogen-rich water on liver function of colorectal cancer patients treated with mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy. Mol. Clin. Oncol. 2017;7:891–896. doi: 10.3892/mco.2017.1409.
[viii] Xu K.-C., Chen J.-B., Kong X.-F., Mu F., Lu T.-Y., Lu Y.-Y. Hydrogen therapy can be used to control tumor progression and alleviate the adverse events of medications in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Med. Gas Res. 2020;10:75–80. doi: 10.4103/2045-9912.285560.
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