“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care”
Featuring: Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS
Watch on Cancer Patient Lab YouTube
Ask Navis about this
Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] Brad Power August 7, 2024 “This is my philosophy: What is the need of my patients? If they come to me and they say, ‘I will be getting chemotherapy, and I want to know which natural substance or repurposed drug or other chemo I should take with it.’ I say, ‘Good. This is our defined question.
You get chemo with platinum, cisplatin, or carboplatin, and you want to know if you should take curcumin or cannabidiol with it. Okay. We have to test it.’” – Martin Lužbeták “I never fly blind. I never trust anything. I never use one single method. I go for CTCs. I go for tumor markers. I go for radiation.
I always want to know what's going on, and if I have a slight feeling it's not going in my direction, I test. I go for an MRI. I go for a PET CT every month. It matters, because if I fly blind, and I fly to the wrong destination, I can't turn around. Time goes in just one direction. If we miss the opportunity, we can’t go back.
I just want to be as effective as I can and as I have to, because this is a hard road.” – Martin Lužbeták “Every patient needs something slightly different, because his cancer type is different, his stage is different, his immune system is different, and so on. The more diagnostics we can do, it will make our work better. You need to do it for every supplement, for everything you do.
You need to think, ‘Why am I doing this?’, for every supplement, every vitamin, every probiotic, for everything.” – Martin Lužbeták Meeting Summary Advanced cancer patients and caregivers are motivated to leave no stone unturned in searching for ways to treat their disease.
They may want to know what other combinations of therapies might complement their primary treatment (often chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or immunotherapy). The heart of complementary oncology is to add something else to the standard treatments, like selenium, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and so on.
This pursuit can lead patients and caregivers to find treatments that are not (yet) sanctioned by clinical standards, and they can run headlong into concerns about personalized therapy combinations which have not been tested in randomized clinical trials. How should you evaluate non-standard complementary treatments? Dr.
Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS, is uniquely positioned to integrate advanced diagnostic testing with clinical care, particularly in the realm of complementary therapies. He operates a specialized molecular diagnostics lab in Düsseldorf and maintains a medical practice in Vienna. Trained in general medicine, his early career was shaped by a keen interest in alternative and preventive medicine.
Initially focusing on surgery and internal medicine, he later transitioned into complementary oncology, working with treatments such as selenium and vitamin D.
ienna. Trained in general medicine, his early career was shaped by a keen interest in alternative and preventive medicine. Initially focusing on surgery and internal medicine, he later transitioned into complementary oncology, working with treatments such as selenium and vitamin D.
In 2018, he established his Vienna practice, dedicated to complementary medicine, recognizing a significant and growing demand for high-quality care in this field. When his colleague and partner in Düsseldorf passed away in 2020, leaving no successor, Dr.
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] the lab, preventing its closure. Since 2021, he has led both his practice and the lab, leveraging his expertise in diagnostics and the application of results—an endeavor that is both challenging and rewarding. What are the challenges in making decisions about complementary therapies?
Evaluating complementary therapies can be challenging, especially when it comes to determining the credibility of those providing recommendations. The evidence supporting these therapies is often limited, and while some practitioners are highly knowledgeable, many lack sufficient expertise. The landscape can be confusing, with a wide range of unproven or unreliable options.
What are some complementary therapies you should consider? ●Targeted vitamins: Don’t take a multivitamin; choose specific vitamins for specific purposes. ●Selenium: Most people are deficient in selenium. It’s harder to get selenium from your diet than other nutrients, like zinc. High dose selenium infusions can prevent the side effects of chemo and are good with immunotherapies.
●Omega-3 fatty acids: If you have a lot of inflammation in your tumor, you can lower the inflammation with omegas, and your immunotherapy is going to work better. ●Intravenous high-dose vitamin C: Intravenous vitamin C does not have enough evidence to say it's cancer killing, but it has evidence for reducing the side effects of chemo.
If you want to know if vitamin C is enhancing the effects of your chemo, try it in the lab first on circulating tumor cells, and then go for very, very high doses of vitamin C. The side effects are very low. It can have good effects on immunotherapy, because your immune cells need vitamin C. Oral vitamin C doesn’t work.
●Fasting: To reduce chemotherapy side effects, fast a day before, on the day of, and a day after chemo. How can you increase your confidence in the effectiveness of complementary therapies? ●Lean into testing: Frequent testing is crucial in evaluating the clinical impact of therapies, and especially in managing the complexity of therapy combinations.
Use multiple testing methods: liquid biopsies, different kinds of scans. For vitamin D, selenium, zinc, and omega-3 acids, measure, apply, then measure, to tune dosing and monitor effectiveness. Base all your decisions on diagnostics.
especially in managing the complexity of therapy combinations. Use multiple testing methods: liquid biopsies, different kinds of scans. For vitamin D, selenium, zinc, and omega-3 acids, measure, apply, then measure, to tune dosing and monitor effectiveness. Base all your decisions on diagnostics. If you have good diagnostics, you will have good therapy and good results.
●Get blood tests: If you need a short timeframe, and you have defined questions, get blood tests. The information you will get will be less than from tissue. Every year they are coming out with more and more blood-based diagnostics. ●Get tissue tests: If you have a lot of questions and a big problem, go for tissue tests.
●Find a doctor you can trust based on the experience of their patients with their recommendations. How can you learn more about complementary therapies?
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] ●See the notes, transcript, and recording from our discussions about complementary therapies with Mark Taylor and Gabriele Gavazzi ; Nasha Winters; Donald Abrams; and Bapcha Murthy. ●Contact Martin Lužbeták at drluzbetak@medvienna.at.
The information and opinions expressed on this website or platform, or during discussions and presentations (both verbal and written) are not intended as health care recommendations or medical advice by Cancer Patient Lab, its principals, presenters, participants, or representatives for any medical treatment, product, or course of action.
You should always consult a doctor about your specific situation before pursuing any health care program, treatment, product or other course of action that might affect your health.
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] Meeting Notes KEYWORDS patients, chemo, diagnostics, lab, treatment, work, cancer, physicians, selenium, zinc, blood, question, measure, zinc deficiency, oncology, fasting, test, mutation, supplement, tissue SPEAKERS Martin Lužbeták (69%), Brad Power (17%), Robb Owen (9%), Brian McCloskey (3%), Chad Magnussen (2%), Roger Royse (1%) CHAT CONTRIBUTORS Allen Morris, Stratis Telloglou, Noel Resch SUMMARY The conversation centered around personalized cancer treatment, emphasizing the importance of tailoring therapies to individual patients through a combination of conventional and complementary therapies and extensive testing.
Evaluating and choosing reliable treatment centers is challenging. There are potential benefits of omega-3 supplementation, vitamin C in immunotherapy, and selenium supplementation for cancer treatment. You need complete diagnostics and tailored supplementation to minimize side effects and maximize efficacy.
OUTLINE Introducing Martin Lužbeták: complementary cancer treatment options and diagnostics with a focus on complementary therapies. ●Martin Lužbeták, MD, discusses complementary therapies for cancer patients in Austria and Germany.
supplementation to minimize side effects and maximize efficacy. OUTLINE Introducing Martin Lužbeták: complementary cancer treatment options and diagnostics with a focus on complementary therapies. ●Martin Lužbeták, MD, discusses complementary therapies for cancer patients in Austria and Germany.
●He is a passionate doctor who combines conventional and complementary treatments for personalized medicine approaches in cancer treatment, using diagnostics to determine the best treatment for each patient. ●You should test natural substances and drugs with chemotherapy to identify potential synergies or conflicts. Evaluating cancer treatment centers, patient network, and cost. ●Dr.
Lužbeták emphasizes referring patients to colleagues with a track record of success and a compassionate bedside manner. ●Collaborating with patient networks can be invaluable in discovering effective cancer treatment options. ●Given the complexity of cancer, clear communication with physicians about your specific needs is essential.
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] ●Some therapies can cost between 30,000 and 40,000 euros, making trial-and-error approaches financially challenging for many European patients. Thorough testing can help identify the most promising and cost-effective treatment options, minimizing unnecessary expenses. ●Dr.
Lužbeták is dedicated to finding treatments that are both effective and affordable, ensuring that patients receive high-quality care without being burdened by excessive costs. Cancer diagnostics and treatment options, including blood vs. tissue testing, whole genome sequencing, and the importance of personalized medicine.
●Patients should prioritize tissue-based diagnostics for personalized treatment guidance. ●Dr. Lužbeták recommends balancing diagnostic testing and therapy costs for optimal care. ●Omega-3 fatty acids in cancer treatment may reduce inflammation and enhance immunotherapy. ●High-dose vitamin C intravenously may reduce chemotherapy side effects.
Cancer diagnosis and treatment options, including CTCs and DNA testing. ●Roger Royse questions the accuracy of CTC tests from different companies due to varying techniques and results. ●Martin Lužbeták mentioned that CTCs are living cells that can be used to measure cancer prognosis, and their cost can range from $500 to $1,000.
●He also mentioned that cfDNA testing is expensive, costing around $3,000 to $5,000, and is mainly used for patients with known metastasis or drug over mutations. ●He discusses affordable diagnostic options for cancer patients, including whole exome and transcriptomic analysis.
●He highlights the importance of understanding treatment options and their methods of action for effective cancer management. Zinc and selenium deficiencies in cancer treatment. ●Robb Owen, a patient with stage 4 head and neck cancer, reversed tumor growth through dietary changes and supplements.
●He highlights the importance of understanding treatment options and their methods of action for effective cancer management. Zinc and selenium deficiencies in cancer treatment. ●Robb Owen, a patient with stage 4 head and neck cancer, reversed tumor growth through dietary changes and supplements.
●Martin Lužbeták notes high selenium deficiency in patients, rare zinc deficiency, and P53 mutation prevalence. ●Robb Owen discusses zinc supplementation's potential to arrest squamous cell carcinoma tumor growth, while Martin Lužbeták cautions against excessive supplementation. Cancer treatment strategies, including metabolic approach, diagnostics, and scans.
●Martin Lužbeták emphasizes the importance of personalized approach to cancer treatment, considering individual patient characteristics and cancer type. ●He disagrees with the advice to avoid antioxidants during chemotherapy, citing a lack of understanding of how chemo works and generates side effects. ●He recommends testing for cancer markers every 3 months after chemo to monitor effectiveness.
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] ●He discusses using various methods to diagnose and treat cancer, including scans, tumor markers, and radiation. ●He prioritizes being as effective as possible and avoiding fear of testing.
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] TRANSCRIPT Brad Power This is the Cancer Patient Lab. We're honored to have Martin Lužbeták with us to talk about his practice. I was introduced to Martin by Mark Taylor, who had a session with us. He's a role model for us of being a super patient.
Mark has looked at many clinics around the world and different treatments and come up with some conclusions. I recommend that you look at the session we had with him to get more background on that. He's very much a proponent of complementary therapies, and he's writing a book that will hopefully be coming out soon.
He introduced me to Martin, and Martin has two roles, as he'll explain, one as a doctor advising people in Vienna on a variety of treatments, and he also has a lab in Germany, which he will explain how he ended up being the leader of that lab in order to guide patients in their care. This is for information purposes only. This is not medical advice.
We provide information to patients so they can take it to their medical team. We are a patient-led community, all volunteers, and would appreciate any donations that you might make, which you can do through our website.
“Evaluating Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care” (Martin Lužbeták, MD, MS) [#108] Martin Lužbeták 2:05 I'm a physician. I'm glad to be here. I love to talk to patients. That's why I still have a practice in Vienna, where I'm practicing complementary medicine. I have a lab. I love the cells. I love the pathways. I love the genes. I try to combine it, and it's not very easy.
Want to learn more about your specific case?
Upload your medical records and ask Navis questions tailored to your diagnosis.