As of: February 7, 2024, 4:49 a.m
By: Jasmina Deshmeh
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Can a tumor disappear without treatment?
Experts say this happens very rarely.
As a patient, you shouldn't expect this.
There are always reports in the media about people recovering from cancer without treatment.
Many of these stories are probably incomplete or incorrect.
However, there are very rare cases in which healing without therapy can be medically proven.
How exactly these “medical miracles” are possible is still a matter of scientific concern.
The mechanisms behind it could potentially be valuable for future cancer treatments.
Anyone suffering from cancer should be aware of the fact that, statistically speaking, such spontaneous healings are extremely rare.
So you shouldn't rely on them.
What do doctors understand by spontaneous healing?
The phenomenon of spontaneous healing fascinates science, but statistically it is extremely rare in cancer.
(Symbolic image) © Westend61/Imago
Cancer is a disease that usually progresses without treatment.
Experts speak of a “cure” when the disease has completely disappeared and does not come back again over the course of life.
Since the probability that tumors will grow again after five years is very low, a person is referred to as “cured” after this period, as the
Bavarian Cancer Society
informs.
However, a relapse can never be completely ruled out.
If the cancer regresses, experts refer to this as remission or regression.
However, this is not automatic because a tumor may no longer be visible on ultrasound, CT, MRI or other imaging procedures, but cancer cells can still be in the body.
So when can one even speak of “spontaneous healing”?
Expert opinions on this vary.
According to the German Cancer Research Center
(DKFZ),
most people mean
one of the following scenarios by spontaneous healing:
A tumor has completely regressed without treatment.
A tumor has regressed during therapy without this being explained in terms of cancer medicine.
A tumor regresses after initial therapy is unsuccessful.
Spontaneous healing or therapeutic success?
Sometimes the prolonged cessation of growth of a tumor or a tumor that has partially regressed is referred to as spontaneous healing.
The definition also becomes difficult if treatment has taken place before but it is not clear whether it is still effective - or if the effect occurs later than normal or is unexpectedly strong.
According to
DKFZ experts
, strictly speaking one can only speak of spontaneous healing if a patient has really not received any treatment and the last cancer cell in the body has been killed.
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It is difficult to say how often spontaneous healing occurs because there are no reliable figures.
Most of the time they are recorded as individual case studies (and thus reach the media) or are not recorded in databases at all.
In addition, the phenomenon is difficult to research for ethical reasons.
According to experts, complete spontaneous healing is extremely rare, although it is more common in certain types of cancer, including skin cancer, kidney cancer and lymph gland cancer.
However, it occurs very rarely in common types of cancer such as breast cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer.
What could contribute to spontaneous healing?
What can trigger spontaneous healing is difficult to say and, above all, difficult to verify scientifically.
Some of those affected report new attitudes to life, strong faith and spirituality, awareness work or even a positive way of dealing with the illness.
In research, these explanations are referred to as “psychospiritual approaches”.
But you should realize that this is speculation and that you don't just need “the right attitude” or “willpower” to get healthy.
Even self-proclaimed dubious “miracle healers” should be treated with great caution.
Danger of confusion: psychospirituality and psychoneuroimmunology
In fact, psychological factors could promote healing, because the psyche and immune system are linked.
Experts refer to these mechanisms as psychoneuroimmunology: it is assumed that the immune system, nervous and hormonal systems are connected and at least partially influence each other.
For example, studies show that stress has a negative impact on the immune system.
The extent to which these phenomena can be transferred to cancer is questionable.
Spontaneous healing in cancer – possible explanations at the cellular level
If spontaneous healing actually occurs, in the opinion of the
DKFZ experts,
only two cases can have occurred: natural cell death was triggered in cancer cells and they die.
Or the cells lose their “bad” properties and become healthy, normal body cells.
This could have happened as a result of the following events:
Immunoreactive processes: the immune system has recognized cancer cells as such and fought them
Inhibition of angiogenesis: Blood vessels that supply a tumor no longer grow
Inhibition of telomerase: a specific protein in cancer cells is deactivated and restores natural cell aging
Hormonal influences: Hormones could prevent the tumor cells from dividing
Occasionally, spontaneous healing occurs in connection with infections.
One explanation for this could be that the inflammation in the body caused by the infection also attacks the cancer cells.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It in no way replaces a visit to the doctor. Our editorial team is not allowed to answer individual questions about medical conditions.