Enhancement of Cell Mediated Tumoricidal Activity by a Novel Homeopatic Drug Against Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer type and the fifth with the highest mortality rate among men worldwide. Due to the high toxicity of traditional cancer therapy, many patients use alternative medicine treatments. Homeopathy is one of the most popular modalities of alternative treatment against cancer. Due to the high incidence of the disease, an effective treatment capable of augment the immune response with minimum side effects is needed. Our laboratory has developed a homeopathic mixture of 23 components such as Influenzium, Pyrogenium and Antracinum called Immune Waker (IW). In this study, we attempt to demonstrate for the first time, the immunoenhancing capacities of IW against human prostate cancer cells. As a part of the experimental design, PBMC (Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells) were antigen activated, in the presence and absence of IW, then presented to PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines. Viability essays such as MTT were performed. We show an 87% and 98% of anti-tumor activity at 10% and 15% of IW, respectively. In addition, IW-activated PBMC produce high levels of the anti-tumor cytokines TNF-α and IL-2, whereas the production of tumor-promoting cytokine IL-1a was significantly reduced suggesting that IW may be eliminating tumor cells by modulating the production of cytokines. This study reveals that our novel homeopathic mixture may augment the cell mediated immune response against tumoral cells. Further studies will be needed to understand the immunological mechanism induced by IW and perhaps IW could be use as a complementary therapy in addition to conventional cancer therapy.