Skin Cancer

The treatment of choice for non-melanoma skin cancers

By: Bill E. Cham, Ph.D. / International Antiaging Systems

The laws of nature may be considered as; “the forces and processes that produce and control all the phenomena of the material world.”

The sun is a major force in nature and is essential for life on earth, unfortunately the sun also produces some unwanted side-effects for humans.

It is fashionable to have a suntan and people feel that exposing their skin to the sun is a healthy, pleasant thing to do. However, the sun also has a “dark side” in that, the ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum produced by the sun as light, in particular U.V.-B (290-320nm), is responsible for producing long-term solar skin damage (keratosis) and skin cancers. In fact, skin cancers are the most common malignancy in humans.

Curaderm-BEC5, is a topical cream preparation of a mixture of the glycoalkaloids solasodine glycosides (BEC). BECs are present in some solanaceous plants, including edible plants such as Solanum melongena (otherwise known as eggplant or aubergine). Now, BEC is available to the public for the treatment of cutaneous solar keratosis, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

This communication gives us some insight how, on the one hand, nature through one of its major forces- sun light, is causing increasingly higher incidences of human skin cancers but, on the other hand, nature, also with the involvement of sunlight and plants has supplied the solution on how to eradicate these skin cancers.

The etiologies of keratosis, BCC and SCC, their currently available treatments, and the particular attributes of Curaderm-BEC5 within these concepts of pathogenesis and therapeutics, are presented in this article.

Keratosis

An overgrowth of the epidermis forms a scaly layer on the skin. The start of this lesion is usually a small patch of dilated capillaries several millimetres in diameter. Then a dry, rough, adherent yellow or dirty brown scale forms, which may bleed if picked off. It may eventually become thick and horny, with a sharp, clear division between the keratosis and normal skin. Solar keratoses occasionally regress if sun exposure is stopped before they become too established. Although non-malignant, they are potentially malignant and can develop into cancer.

Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC)

A BCC is a malignant tumour that rarely spreads to distant sites (metastasises). It starts in the basal layer of cells, between the basement membrane and the subsequent layer of cells and grows upwards from these. It consists of immature cells and has an organized complex of supportive tissue around it. The primary cause of BCC is sunlight exposed onto sensitive skin. Contributory causes are radiation damage, exposure to arsenic, burn scars and vaccination marks. BCCs are the most common malignant skin tumours in humans; they do not spread by metastases, but they erode tissue, and if not treated may eventually kill. BCCs may appear in a variety of guises and on first appearance, they are commonly small, rounded lumps with a pearly edge, and a thin surface covering with a few superficial transparent blood vessels. BCCs may also appear as ulcers, or as bleeding or non-healing lesions. Occasionally they appear as flat diffuse crusting or scaling red lesions. BCC tumours usually grow slowly but in a relentless manner. They then ulcerate and the ulcer will follow the spreading tumour, causing further damage, (for this reason they are also known as rodent ulcers).

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)

An SCC is a malignant tumour arising from the cells above the basal layer of the epidermis (prickle layer), usually after many years of exposure to sunlight. The cells in the prickle layer are maturing towards keratin formation and the cancer occurs when they accelerate in growth and breakthrough the basement membrane into the dermis. Although sunlight is the most common cause of SCC, any cancer-producing substance (carcinogen) may initiate its development. SCCs often arise from precancerous conditions such as solar keratoses. SCCs may also develop from skin ulcers, scar tissues, and x-ray damaged tissues, if this occurs then the chance of metastasis increases to approximately 20%. In addition, some 40% of transplant patients who are on immunosuppressive drugs develop SCCs within 5-years post-transplantation. This skin cancer is a serious problem and is potentially deadly. The first sign of an SCC is usually a thickening, with the lesion feeling firm, and the limits are not discrete. In the early stages there may be a crust that may later shed to show an ulcer. It may also form as a crack (fissure) or a small ulcer on the lip, which fails to heal and bleeds recurrently. The SCC may metastasise with an incidence of generally less than 5%.

Old Established Treatments

Surgery

There are various surgical techniques available to treat skin cancer in its various forms. Surgical excision of a tumour has the advantage, that if done correctly, removes the affected area virtually completely. This treatment is extensive, requires anaesthesia and depending on the tumour, may require skin grafting with its accompanying cosmetic limitations. The risks of surgical intervention are well known and excision of BCCs or SCCs from the facial area often involves reconstructive surgery, which can be both time consuming and costly.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy, more so prior to the 1950’s than now, has been used to treat most skin cancers. The disadvantage of this mode of treatment is the resulting scar tissue which may be depressed, depigmented and may also undergo degenerative and malignant changes at a later date.

Dermatological

Dermatological treatment consists of curettage and diathermy/ cauterisation, cryotherapy, chemosurgery and chemotherapy, and is generally used for superficial skin cancers. With curettage and diathermy, the tumour is scraped out and the bleeding stopped by cauterisation, (application of heat) by an electric current (diathermy). Cryotherapy, possibly the most widely used method, involves an intensely cold probe, cooled by liquid nitrogen, which is applied to the lesion. When the lesion thaws, there is pain in the treated area, followed by blister formation. Chemosurgery involves chemical fixation of the lesion and the fixed tissue is shaved off in layers. Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is an anti-metabolite and inhibits RNA and protein syntheses leading to cell death, is used to treat superficial lesions, but it is not specific for cancer cells. 5-FU is supplied as an ointment and requires considerable care in its application under medical supervision.

All of the above methods (surgery, radiotherapy and dermatogical) have their own individual limitations. However, the limitations common to all of these methods are:

• Formation of scar tissue.
• Lack of normal tissue regrowth.
• Limited access to the lesion if it is deep within the skin.
• A high rate of recurrence.
• Cosmetic end result.

Skin Cancer

The cream that eats cancer, An interview with Bill Cham

By: International Antiaging Systems

Dr. Bill Cham is the Biochemist who discovered and developed BEC5 Curaderm. The following interview with Dr. Cham outlines the history of medical research that BEC5 Curaderm has followed between 1979 to the present day. It highlights the personal dedication that Dr. Cham has demonstrated in achieving his ambition of developing a remarkable cream for skin cancer.

AAM: Dr. Cham, please let our readers know about the qualifications you hold.

Dr. Cham: Certainly, my credentials include University degrees in Chemistry from the Netherlands, as well as Biochemistry, which I obtained in Australia. I also hold a Doctorate of Science Ph.D in the field of Medicine.

AAM: Where did you complete most of your studies?

Dr. Cham: I was living in Australia, working at the University of Queensland Department of Medicine. As Queensland has among the highest rates of skin cancer, I was pleased to be helping people with their conditions. However, all the research was self-funded and privately undertaken.

AAM: When did you first find out about the active ingredient in BEC5 Curaderm?

Dr. Cham: It was out of the blue in 1979, when a friend of mine named Merv Gilliver, who was completing his veterinarian Ph.D, asked me whether I had heard of the 'Devils apple Plant?' Merv had recently discovered that the juice of the Devils Apple fruit had stopped the growth of an eye cancer tumor in cows. That piqued my interested and I began to research it further. At the time it was unknown what the possible active ingredient was in the fruit of the Devil’s Apple plant. Realizing that Vincristine and Vinblastine are active anticancer agents in the Periwinkle plant I embarked at looking for similar ingredients in the Devil’s Apple. Vincristine and Vinblastine are glycoalkaloids. I discovered that there were also glycoalkaloids in the Devil’s Apple. But these glycoalkaloids were very different in structure than those found in the periwinkle plant. Once the glycoalkaloids were fully characterized I realized that the interest in the source material went back a hundred years in the literature.

AAM: What is the active ingredient in BEC5 Curaderm and what makes it special?

Dr. Cham: The active ingredient in BEC5 Curaderm is called Solasodine Glycosides. These active ingredients are extracted from the plant Solanum Sodomaeum, the so-called Devil’s apple- which is found in the Australasia region. What makes it interesting is that the pure extract, the active substance itself, has been shown to be effective in the treatment of the malignant human skin tumours, basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas as well as the benign tumours, such as keratoses and keratoacanthomas.

AAM: So just how effective has the application of the BEC5 Curaderm cream been?

Dr. Cham: The histological analyses of biopsies taken before, during and after treatment give us compelling evidence of the efficacy of BEC5 Curaderm. Treated skin cancer lesions have not recurred for at least 5 years after cessation of therapy. Indeed, recent trials completed at respected UK hospitals highlighted that twice daily applications of BEC5 Curaderm produced complete remission of skin cancers in 78% of the patients within only 8-weeks.

AAM: That’s remarkable, what was the situation in the remaining 22% of patients?

Dr. Cham: All of them also had reduction in the size of their tumors. I believe had the trials continued longer for those patients, that they too would have achieved complete remissions. Such results have been the case in former Clinical Trials completed in Australia in the 1980’s and 1990’s which have been published in international journals such as Cancer Letters and Drugs of Today. The near 100% success rate has been consistent across all clinical trials, open studies and among consumers in general. Some larger skin tumours may take up to 15 weeks treatment for complete remission.

AAM: What about side effects, have toxicology studies been completed on BEC5 Curaderm?

Dr. Cham: Yes, all forms of toxicology have been investigated. Biochemical, hematological and urine analytical studies have demonstrated that there are no adverse effects on the liver, kidneys or haematopoietic system during treatment. Normal skin treated with BEC5 Curaderm, was also tested and was also free from adverse histological clinical effects. BEC5 Curaderm is a non-toxic product as it has the same active ingredients found in egg plant which is eaten every day. Therefore you do not need to worry about any side effects or adverse reactions. Actually, the products natural attributes make the product so simple to use which greatly contributes to the products popularity.

AAM: What type of skin cancers do you recommend BEC5 Curaderm to treat?

Dr. Cham: I recommend BEC5 Curaderm to be used to treat areas of the skin that may have become discoloured, thickened or scaly as a result of exposure to sun (UV) light. These areas of the skin are known as keratoses (sun spots). This cream is also very effective to treat true malignant skin cancers such as the non-melanoma basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

AAM: You say ‘non melanoma’ skin cancers, what about melanomas themselves. Why would they be any different?

Dr. Cham: It is often misunderstood by the public that there is a very clear distinction between a melanoma and a malignant skin cancer. Melanomas are characteristically moles that are changing in shape and size. Around 5% of all skin cancer cases are Melanomas and their danger is that the cancer can spread through the body to any other organ. BEC5 Curaderm is a localized cream treatment that has the capacity to trace and destroy cancer cells in a specific skin area. The active has no way of entering the bloodstream to locate cancer cells in other organs or skin areas. At the moment, the BEC Technology is being researched by an Australian listed company, ‘Solbec Pharmaceuticals Ltd’ and results for the treatment of internal cancers are encouraging. At this stage, however, absolutely no treatment claims can be made for BEC’s effectiveness on melanomas or internal cancers. Thus, until all clinical trial work is concluded and relevant drug approvals are finalized, BEC should never be assumed to be a melanoma tumor treatment. Melanomas require the care full attention of a Doctor who can perform clinical tests accessing where the cancers are located in your body. Following this, treatment options may be a combination of surgery and chemotherapy or other cancer controlling drugs.

AAM: This is remarkable, can I ask, are you concerned about counterfeit products?

Dr. Cham: Naturally one worries about one’s work being used to support products that are not proven or tested, and that has happened. One particular company has made several attempts to release cream products in the USA for Sun Spots and cites my research on Solasodine Glycosides as evidence of the products efficacy. However, whilst clinical results have been published, the specific technologies to extract and purify the active ingredient is not available on the public domain. So these companies are using ‘guess work’ without trials and trying to deceive the public that they contain the same pharmacologically active ingredient. This is clearly not the case and in some cases resulted in fake products being withdrawn from the marketplace. The only glycoalkaloid product that is supported by credible evidence is BEC5 Curaderm. Others could potentially worsen the condition, which is dangerous.

AAM: Some doctors may like to classify BEC5 Curaderm as an alternative treatment. What are your comments on this?

Dr Cham: There is a big misunderstanding about alternative treatment. Most people think if the product is natural it is an alternative treatment. The natural active ingredients of Curaderm BEC5 have been fully investigated as if they were synthetic compounds to establish efficacy, safety etc. Over 7000 of the commonly prescribed drugs in the western world are derived from plants, but they are not classified as alternative!

AAM: Could you please describe to us the typical process a patient goes through and what they might expect to see?

Dr. Cham: The most important thing to know about using BEC5 Curaderm is the end result is smooth, fresh skin that has a normal appearance. Stopping treatment before this point is not advised as cancer cells may still be present which will subsequently multiply. Sunspots and Keratoses involves applying the cream 2 or 3 times a day and within a few days the skin will appear normal again. In the case of BCCs and SCCs, the treatment process is longer as the lesion is bigger and malignant. In this case it is very important for people to understand the process because, during treatment the lesion usually appears worse than pre-treatment. BEC-5 penetrates the skin tissue and moves its way around the healthy cells to find the cancer infected cells. Once these cells are located the two BEC5 actives are activated to perform their duties. The first active contains a receptor that has the key to the cancer cell door. Once inside, the second active finds the stomach of the cell and explodes the stomach, killing the cancer’s life. This killing of the cancerous cells causes a slight inflammation as the cancer cells are killed. This can be evidenced on the skin surface through the lesion appearing bigger and possibly watery material will seep from the lesion. There is no need to worry. This seemingly worsening of the lesion is just a sign that the cancer cells have been destroyed creating a disturbance to the skin tissue structure. The dead cancer cells are replaced with healthy normal cells. Despite the increase in lesion size it is most vital that you continue to apply the BEC5 cream. The continued application allows more BEC5 to locate cancer cells in the surrounding tissue. BEC5 literally traces and seeks out all the cancer cells. It is imperative that an occlusive dressing such as micro-tape is used after each BEC5 application. The treated lesion is not allowed to dry out and form a scab. The objective of BEC5 treatment is to return your skin to be absolutely back to normal. Once the skin area has a completely new layer of skin with no more sores, inflammation or break in the skin surface, then the treatment is over. We are glad that it is easy for everyone to know when the treatment is over because everyone’s principal objective when treating skin cancer is to have skin return absolutely back to normal. Cancer free and scar free are of course also results you can expect from using BEC5.

AAM: So how much of the BEC5 cream does it take to treat a typical skin cancer?

Dr. Cham: On average a 20ml bottle can manage one to two large non melanoma SCC or BCC skin cancers, two to three medium sized ones or perhaps twelve sun spots and its shelf life is 5 years.

AAM: That really must be the most economical treatment for cancer- ever! Presumably the patient isn’t undergoing any other treatments as well?

Dr. Cham: Indeed hopefully they are not! In fact, some dermatologists have remarked that BEC5 Curaderm is an ideal replacement for chemo, radiotherapy and laser treatment and an excellent therapy for outpatient treatment.

AAM: I am sure some of our readers are interested or are already using BEC5 Curaderm. What is the best advice you can give people when using this remarkable natural cream?

Dr. Cham: There is no question that BEC5 Curaderm is the treatment of choice for non melanoma skin cancer. The disadvantages of other treatments are well known by doctors everywhere. Post treatment consequences include; scars from invasive surgery, recurrence of the skin cancer within a few years and drastic side-effects from the currently available “standard” drugs. I have been shocked by some of the surgical results that I have seen on patients and consequently I have worked tirelessly for 27 years so that people worldwide can be given the choice of BEC5 Curaderm. So, obviously my best advice is; use BEC5 Curaderm, it works.

Secondly, my advice is have patience. Whilst surgery can be over in a day, some patients, such as Iris Napier have been treated for up to 13 weeks. This is a long time, but remember, the BEC5 treatment is about, killing the cancer cells, building back the healthy cell tissues beneath the skin and finally regenerating the top outer skin layer. Compared to surgery, that is simply cutting out all the tissue, both good and bad out, permanently! So, of course, BEC5 Curaderm will take longer. Incidentally, Iris was warned by her Doctor that the planned surgery would risk her nose existence! As Iris was likely to have to live with a plastic nose, she is glad that she found BEC5 Curaderm. The average treatment time is under 2 weeks, but note, if you want to speed up the treatment BEC5 -Curaderm can be applied up to 10 times a day with 20 to 30 minutes in-between every application, this reduces the number of treatment days dramatically. Thus, more applications a day means faster results.

AAM: As Antiaging medicine is all about not becoming sick in the first place, is there any role for BEC5 Curaderm in preventative medicine?

Dr. Cham: Good question, to which I believe the answer is yes. After all, if you have concerns that a sun spot could be malignant, or may become so, simply apply the BEC5 Curaderm cream sparingly twice a day until it has cleared up. My vision is that as the popularity of BEC5 Curaderm increases people will learn to use the cream immediately on site of any such spot and in doing so cancer lesions will not grow. Because there is zero toxicity it is simple to apply the cream all over the face, arms and other potential skin cancer/sun spot risk areas. I actually suggest this prevention tactic to anyone who has had skin cancer in the past.

AAM: So you have been working on BEC5 Curaderm since 1979, how active are you on the product now in 2006.

Dr. Cham: I recognize my work on BEC5 Curaderm as a significant life achievement and have been honored with the many hundreds of peer medical reviews that have validated the Glycoalkaloid science that I pioneered. There is no question in my mind that these 26 years have paved the way for a long commercial future for the product. However, I have reached a point in my life, now retired in the beautiful South Pacific country of Vanuatu, where the commercial world is beyond me. I will be a life long endorser of the medical research and efficacy that distinguishes BEC5 Curaderm, however you will not see me in the board room or at marketing presentations any more like I was busy doing ten years ago when I first released the product, so really, I am not involved with the product anymore. However, I am writing a book called; “The Skin Cancer Cure” which partly explores the roller coaster ride I have experienced in getting the product this far without the support of large company budgets. Following the release of the book next year I plan to write some more journal articles possibly on the preventative side of BEC5 Curaderm, which I feel is very important to explain.

AAM: I believe this a great example of antiaging medicine at its best and I am glad that we’ve been able to expose your terrific work in the Antiaging Magazine. I see that it has been a long road for you personally, how do you feel now?

Dr. Cham: There have been many obstacles to overcome and there will be more I’m sure. But we feel that we are now over the crest of the hill and I’m happy that the research has come to something so conclusive and extraordinary, and that we are of course, helping people’s lives and saving them from a lot of discomfort and disfigurement.

AAM: Many congratulations Dr. Cham.

Dr Cham: Thank you for your interest in our work.

Disclaimer:

The above information is provided under the supplying company's terms and conditions and should not replace the advice of your personal physician.

Where can I order the original Curacerm BEC-5 used in the clinical trials? - CLICK HERE

© International Antiaging Systems Ltd