No laboratory study of the safety and/or effectiveness of 714-X has been published in scientific literature. A few animal experiments have been conducted, but the results of these experiments have not been reported in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The animal studies utilized a lymphosarcoma tumor model in rats and lymphoma tumor models in dogs and cows. 714-X was not found to be effective as an anticancer treatment in these studies. Reviewed in [1]

A few laboratory and animal studies have suggested that camphor is able to enhance the response of the immune system to vaccine administration and to increase the sensitivity of tumor cells to radiation therapy.[2-6] In one series of studies, investigators used camphor vapors as a conditioned stimulus to promote an immune response.[2-5] These studies demonstrated that mice exposed to camphor vapors at the same time they received an antilymphoma vaccine showed decreased growth of transplanted lymphoma cells and increased survival when they were re-exposed to camphor vapors plus the vaccine or to camphor vapors alone, in comparison with mice re-exposed to only the vaccine.[2,3] These investigators also demonstrated that exposure to camphor vapors led to an increase in natural killer cells [4] and an increase in tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells.[5] Another study reported that breast adenocarcinoma cells transplanted under the skin of mice responded better to local radiation therapy when small doses of camphor were administered by intraperitoneal injection before the radiation treatment.[6]

Finally, researchers examined nine compounds, including a camphor-containing compound, for their ability to inhibit the activity of estrone sulfatase, an enzyme involved in the production of estrone, which is a precursor of the various forms of estrogen. Estrogens are thought to promote the growth of hormone -dependent breast cancer cells. The camphor-containing compound showed only modest inhibition of estrone sulfatase activity in human breast cancer cells grown in vitro.[7]

References

1. Kaegi E: Unconventional therapies for cancer: 6. 714-X. Task Force on Alternative Therapeutic of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative. CMAJ 158 (12): 1621-4, 1998.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Hiramoto RN, Hiramoto NS, Rish ME, et al.: Role of immune cells in the Pavlovian conditioning of specific resistance to cancer. Int J Neurosci 59 (1-3): 101-17, 1991.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
3. Ghanta VK, Hiramoto NS, Solvason HB, et al.: Conditioning: a new approach to immunotherapy. Cancer Res 50 (14): 4295-9, 1990.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
4. Ghanta VK, Hiramoto NS, Solvason HB, et al.: Conditioned enhancement of natural killer cell activity, but not interferon, with camphor or saccharin-LiCl conditioned stimulus. J Neurosci Res 18 (1): 10-5, 1987.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
5. Ghanta VK, Hiramoto NS, Soong SJ, et al.: Conditioning of the secondary cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to YC8 tumor. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 50 (3): 399-403, 1995.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
6. Goel HC, Roa AR: Radiosensitizing effect of camphor on transplantable mammary adenocarcinoma in mice. Cancer Lett 43 (1-2): 21-7, 1988.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
7. Howarth NM, Purohit A, Reed MJ, et al.: Estrone sulfonates as inhibitors of estrone sulfatase. Steroids 62 (4): 346-50, 1997.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   

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