Current Controversies in Nutrition: Fermented Wheat Germ Extract—An Adjunct Treatment for Cancer?

ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES DOI: 10.1089/act.2012.18401 • MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • VOL. 18 NO. 4 AUGUST 2012 Over the years, I have read about dozens of alternative treatments that have been promoted for controlling or reversing cancer, including, but by no means limited to, laetrile, macrobiotics, Hoxsey, Gerson, and Krebiozen. While conventional treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation) are often brutal—and serious questions remain about their long-term effectiveness—a certain skepticism is warranted when it comes to claims of alternative therapies for cancer. In the late 1960s, I was convinced that laetrile had real merit—until a study funded by the drug’s advocates found that vitamin A was more effective. I do believe that some alternative therapies for cancer have been of exceptional value, such as a 1950s-era immune-enhancing therapy known as Krebiozen (and a later variation known as Carcalon), although it faded into history with the death of its chief researcher and clinician, Andrew Ivy, MD, in 1978. Likewise, considerable research now supports the use of high-dose intravenous vitamin C as an adjunct treatment for cancer.1,2 Many alternative therapies have grown out of personal or anecdotal reports—that is, by sharing the knowledge of an unexpected benefit. I am always mindful of an observation by the late Emanuel Cheraskin, MD, DMD, who noted that such reports are called “case histories” if a physician wants to give them credence and “anecdotal” if he/she wants to dismiss them. Still, I have no doubt that many alternative therapies benefit at least some people. However, cancer is an insidious disease, driven by adaptive mutations, and few conventional or alternative therapies provide sustained benefits for the majority of patients. The reason for this is probably continuous gene mutations and chromosomal aneuploidy.3 Unfortunately, few alternative anticancer therapies have been subjected to scientific studies. One of the notable exceptions is fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE). More than 100 studies—including clinical trials—have been conducted on this nutrient-based substance, although not all of these studies have been published. The origins of FWGE as a cancer treatment date back to the 1930s. Albert Szent-Györgyi, MD, PhD—who was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on bioenergetics (what would eventually become known as the Krebs cycle) and discovering vitamin C—believed that compounds called benzoquinones might inhibit the uptake of glucose by cancer cells, in effect, starving cancer cells of their metabolic fuel. Born in Hungary, where he is still revered, Szent-Györgyi was one of the most brilliant physicians and biochemists of the twentieth century; he knew that wheat germ contained high concentrations of benzoquinones. Toward the end of his life, when he was conducting research at the Woods Hole Research Center, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, Szent-Györgyi received some funding for cancer research. He hypothesized that a new class of anticancer drugs might be based on benzoquinones.* After he died in 1986, SzentGyörgyi’s files and scientific notebooks were being readied for disposal, but they were saved at the last minute and shipped to Mate Hidvegi, PhD, a Hungarian biochemist. There was an interesting coincidence in this event—Dr. Hidvegi’s grandfather had been a friend and professional colleague of Szent-Györgyi decades before. Dr. Hidvegi started working on the chemistry of wheat, believing that fermentation might increase the bioavailability of benzoquinones.* He developed a process that utilized baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to increase benzoquinones, specifically 2,6-dimethoxy-benzoquinone (DMBQ) and 2-methoxy-benzoquinone.4 By 1996, Dr. Hidvegi and his colleagues had conducted animal experiments and found that the main effect of FWGE was to inhibit the growth of metastases from different types of cancer. This effect could be related to blocking glucose uptake by cancer cells, or it could be related to other mechanisms, including cell signaling and oncogene suppression. Dr. Hidvegi and his colleagues started clinical trials in Hungary and Russia in 1999, and later on in Italy, focusing on the use of FWGE as an adjunct treatment for colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and stage-3 melanoma. Later on, Dr. Hidvegi obtained government approval to identify FWGE as a “dietary food for [a] special medical purpose for cancer patients.” This was the first such category for a dietary supplement in Europe, according to Dr. Hidvegi.* Today, FWGE is sold in packets for mixing with ~ 4 oz of cold water and then shaken vigorously to dissolve the powder. Current Controversies in Nutrition