Clinical Impact of Deuterium Depletion on Survival Outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer ranks as the 12th most common cancer globally, responsible for 7% of all cancer-related deaths. Patients with unresectable tumors have only a 20% chance of surviving one year; patients diagnosed at stage III or IV of the disease expect only 4 to 6 months to live. This retrospective study evaluated the impact of deuterium-depleted water (DDW) on the median survival time (MST) of 93 patients with pancreatic cancer. Without altering their conventional treatments, the patients’ daily fluid intake was entirely replaced with 1.5 to 2 liters of DDW to lower deuterium concentration in their bodies. The MST from diagnosis to the end of observation was 21.5 months (95% CI: 12.6–30.3). Notably, there was a pronounced, though not statistically significant (p = 0.215), difference in MST between genders. The MST for female patients was 37.5 months (95% CI: 8.8–66.1), compared to 17.1 months (95% CI: 12.1–22.1) for male patients. Four case studies are presented, highlighting significantly longer survival times than previously reported in the literature. These findings suggest that deuterium depletion, when combined with standard treatments, may improve survival outcomes in advanced-stage pancreatic cancer more effectively than targeted therapies or combination treatments alone.