Abstract
Hypoxia is a critical hallmark of solid tumors and involves enhanced cell survival, angiogenesis, glycolytic metabolism, and metastasis. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment has for centuries been used to improve or cure disorders involving hypoxia and ischemia, by enhancing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the plasma and thereby increasing O2 delivery to the tissue. Studies on HBO and cancer have up to recently focused on whether enhanced oxygen acts as a cancer promoter or not. As oxygen is believed to be required for all the major processes of wound healing, one feared that the effects of HBO would be applicable to cancer tissue as well and promote cancer growth. Furthermore, one also feared that exposing patients who had been treated for cancer, to HBO, would lead to recurrence. Nevertheless, two systematic reviews on HBO and cancer have concluded that the use of HBO in patients with malignancies is considered safe. To supplement the previous reviews, we have summarized the work performed on HBO and cancer in the period 2004–2012. Based on the present as well as previous reviews, there is no evidence indicating that HBO neither acts as a stimulator of tumor growth nor as an enhancer of recurrence. On the other hand, there is evidence that implies that HBO might have tumor-inhibitory effects in certain cancer subtypes, and we thus strongly believe that we need to expand our knowledge on the effect and the mechanisms behind tumor oxygenation.
Highlights
Cancer and hypoxiaSolid tumors often contain areas subjected to acute or chronic hypoxia [1], though with variable severity in patients both within and among different tumor types [2]
Cell survival, angiogenesis, and metastasis observed in Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO)-treated cancers the last 9 years, both as stand-alone and adjuvant treatment, and compared them to older publications involving the selected topic
Hypoxia is reported to result in cellular responses which improve oxygenation and viability through induction of angiogenesis, an alteration in metabolism by increased glycolysis and upregulation of genes involved in cell survival/apoptosis [4]
Summary
Pubmed was searched for articles concerning hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and cancer for the period from 2004 to. 2012, using the MeSH search terms (“hyperbaric oxygenation” and/or “hyperoxia” and “neoplasms”). A total of 28 articles were found relevant, directly involving the use of HBO as a stand-alone or as adjuvant treatment on different cancer types. Cell survival, angiogenesis, and metastasis observed in HBO-treated cancers the last 9 years, both as stand-alone and adjuvant treatment, and compared them to older publications involving the selected topic
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