In the quest to improve cancer treatment results and boost patient well-being, an unexpected helper has emerged from the world of molecular elements—hydrogen gas. Hydrogen is set to revolutionise cancer care with its ability to remove hydroxy radicals (the bad reactive oxygen species) without affecting the good reactive oxygen species (ROS). It thus plays an important role in immune enhancement. Here's a closer look at the cancer-specific research and its implications for patients and medical professionals.

The Dual Potential of Hydrogen in Cancer Treatment

Molecular Hydrogen's role in cancer treatment is multifaceted, exhibiting a capacity to induce or regulate apoptosis. This process can either lead to the death of harmful cancer cells or protect healthy cells from damage. Interestingly, hydrogen gas has the ability to adjust its role based on the cellular environment—acting as an inhibitor of pro-apoptotic proteins in some instances or as an enhancer of apoptosis mechanisms in others. This dual potential offers a nuanced approach to targeting cancer cells while safeguarding normal ones, highlighting Hydrogen's versatility as a therapeutic agent.

Arresting the Cell Cycle

Research has shown that hydrogen gas can halt the proliferation of cancer cells by arresting their cycle at a critical phase, thereby inhibiting tumour growth. This effect is linked to Hydrogen's ability to regulate various cell cycle-related proteins, including Cyclin D1, CDK4, and CDK6, showing us another intriguing layer of its anti-cancer capabilities.

Immune System Modulation

Controlling malignant tumours' recurrence and spread is challenging due to factors like immuno-senescence and the gradual weakening of the immune system. Tumours can exhaust and deteriorate key immune cells, including T cells and natural killer cells, leading to increased regulatory T cells. Traditional treatments like surgery and chemotherapy can accelerate tumour spread. A 2019 study on 20 non-small cell lung cancer patients showed that two weeks of daily hydrogen inhalation significantly improved immune function, reducing exhausted T cells and increasing NK cells.

In 55 colorectal cancer patients, three months of hydrogen therapy reduced PD-1+ CD8+ T cells, associated with poor prognosis and improved outcomes. Hydrogen gas, combined with the immunotherapy drug Nivolumab, enhanced the effectiveness of exhausted CD8+ T cells in 42 lung cancer patients, leading to significantly longer survival than Nivolumab alone.

It also enhanced the effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy by increasing the apoptosis rate in cancer cells. A case report described a non-small cell lung cancer patient who, after failing conventional treatments, experienced a reduction and eventual disappearance of brain metastases within a year of hydrogen gas treatment. This treatment also stabilised liver and lung metastases, extending survival.

Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Reduction

One of the most profound benefits of molecular Hydrogen is its selective antioxidant activity. Unlike other antioxidants, Hydrogen discriminates between harmful cytotoxic radicals and beneficial reactive oxygen species (ROS), reducing oxidative stress and inflammation without disrupting essential cellular functions. This specificity is particularly valuable in cancer treatment, where maintaining the balance of cellular processes is critical. 

High levels of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) play a significant role in the development and progression of cancer, negatively impacting patients undergoing treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Infections and exposure to fungal pathogens, chemicals, and pollutants exacerbate these levels. Elevated ROS can activate the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, leading to apoptosis in non-cancerous cells and initiating a harmful cycle of toxic effects that may contribute to cancer recurrence and cachexia. In the case of ascites and ovarian cancer cells, increased expression of PGC1α is evident. It plays a significant role in chemoresistance as the process mediates the cells' response to oxidative stress. Hydrogen has been found to play a crucial part in regulating PGC1α expression. 

Hydrogen has shown the potential to counteract the downstream inflammation within the tumour microenvironment and in non-cancer cells impacted by aggressive treatment. It does this by minimising electron leakage in the electron transport chain, preventing the generation of superoxide in mitochondrial complex I, and correcting electron flow. This, in turn, reduces oxidative damage within the mitochondria of healthy cells.

Cancer patients must manage excessive systemic levels of ROS promptly, with guidance from an integrative health professional. Equally important is identifying and addressing the underlying causes and contributors of the excessive ROS with the guidance of a functional, naturopathic, or integrative health practitioner, ensuring a comprehensive approach to treatment and care.

Cancer Signalling Pathways

Hydrogen is emerging as a promising therapeutic agent by modulating cellular signalling pathways. Its influence on specific proteins and RNA, crucial in cancer progression, highlights its potential as part of comprehensive cancer care strategies. RNA sequencing analysis revealed hydrogen-induced TNF/NF-κB and apoptosis pathways in endometrial cancer cells. 

Hydrogen has been shown to reduce STAT3/Bcl2 signalling, promoting cancer cell death and encouraging autophagy. Furthermore, it suppresses the expression of the long non-coding RNA MALAT1 and the transcription factor EZH2, both implicated in the proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells, further revealing its significant therapeutic promise.

Integrative Approaches to Cancer Therapy

In a comprehensive follow-up study, 82 cancer patients at stages III and IV underwent treatment through hydrogen inhalation, adhering to a "real world evidence" methodology over a period of 3 to 46 months. Remarkably, within the initial four weeks of treatment, participants experienced significant improvements in fatigue, insomnia, anorexia, and pain, indicating a positive response to the therapy. Their overall physical condition saw a notable enhancement of 41.5%, with lung cancer patients showing the most significant improvement, while those with pancreatic and gynecologic cancers experienced the least progress.

In cases where tumour markers were elevated—58 in total—a promising 36.2% displayed a reduction within 13 to 45 days, averaging at 23 days post-inhalation-treatment initiation. This effect was most pronounced in lung cancer patients, with pancreatic and hepatic cancer patients observing the least reduction.

Out of 80 patients with visible tumours on imaging scans, the overall disease control rate post-hydrogen inhalation treatment was 57.5%, including cases of complete and partial remission occurring between 21 and 80 days, with a median of 55 days. The disease control rate was significantly higher in stage III patients compared to those at stage IV.

These studies underscore the therapeutic potential of hydrogen inhalation using machines with a combined hydrogen and oxygen flow rate of 1800 and 3000ml/min. They also open avenues for further research into tailored treatments for different cancer types.

Benefits

Beyond its direct anti-tumour actions, Hydrogen offers multiple benefits that address the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. From alleviating bone marrow damage to protecting the healthy cells of the gut, brain, kidneys, and liver during chemotherapy, hydrogen therapy supports patient health holistically. Research into its role in enhancing the outcomes of immunotherapy, in particular, emphasises the clear potential of Hydrogen as part of combination therapy regimens of the future.

Administration and Access to 1800 and 3000 ml/min Hydrogen Machines

The versatility of Hydrogen extends to its administration methods, with drinking Hydrogen-rich water throughout the day being both safe and effective alongside Hydrogen inhalation being accessible and adaptable to various patient needs, including those diagnosed with lung cancer, where inhalation using a machine that produces 3000 ml/min has shown significant promise. When writing this summary, the HAH machines were the only hospital-grade 3000 ml/min machines shipped worldwide directly to patients via FedEx and DHL. The HAH site also has an 1800 ml minute machine too which has been used in cancer patient studies alongside immunotherapy.

Learn More

I am a dedicated cancer patient advocate and a certified Molecular Hydrogen Institute H2 advisor. As the founder and administrator of The Healing Cancer Study Support Group, I have provided valuable resources, guidance and support to people living with cancer since 2019. My expertise in Molecular Hydrogen is recognized through my online articles, study group posts and certification as an H2 Advisor by the Molecular Hydrogen Institute in 2024. I serve as an H2 Ambassador and Research Support Consultant for Health and Hydrogen, demonstrating my commitment to advancing knowledge and applications of hydrogen therapy in healthcare. For those seeking personalized guidance on hydrogen research and its potential benefits, I offer free 45-minute one-on-one Hydrogen Research Support calls, which can be scheduled through my online booking system. My combination of experience, professional certifications, and dedication to supporting others makes me a valuable resource for those exploring alternative and complementary approaches to cancer treatment and overall health. To schedule a free 45min 1:1 Hydrogen Research Support call with me, please visit:
https://hydrogensupport.as.me/

Join me in the HAH Hydrogen Support Group, a new, free-to-access learning space on Facebook where I summarise the best research on Hydrogen in the field of health and healing. https://www.facebook.com/groups/hydrogensupportgroup

The Path Ahead

The insights gleaned from ongoing research into molecular Hydrogen's role in cancer treatment are heartening. Hydrogen stands out as a potentially powerful tool in oncology because it offers a multifaceted approach that includes selective antioxidant activity, apoptosis regulation, cell cycle arrest, and modulation of cellular pathways.

Its capacity to mitigate the adverse effects of existing treatments while directly combating cancer cells opens the door to more refined and patient-friendly therapeutic strategies. Hydrogen therapy may become a cornerstone of future cancer care, embodying hope for patients worldwide.

Cancer patients and doctors are encouraged to explore this emerging therapeutic field, as hydrogen therapy represents not just a glimpse into the future of cancer care but a tangible, evolving reality with extraordinary potential.

Discount Code for HAH Hydrogen Machines

The author of this summary is in long-term remission from a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis in 2017 and now owns the HAH-3000 machine shown here and uses it daily to inhale hydrogen and drink hydrogen-rich water. An affiliate discount on all HAH machines for the Healing Cancer Study Support Group members requires the code abbey5 to be entered on the HAH website during checkout to have 5% taken off the machine total.

 Hydrogen Water Bottles

There is not much research in my awareness as yet indicating that drinking hydrogen-rich water can have anywhere near the powerful anti-cancer immune modulating impact that three to six hours a day on an 1800 or 3000 machine might have, but if a patient with excessive chronic inflammation post-treatment and is not able to afford a machine, then drinking HRW throughout the day is best done with a good bottle not tablets for the sake of cost and purity. I have begun summarising the research on the wide range of benefits of drinking HRW and am posting my summary here as a separate article.  These bottles are the ones I have selected as one of the best on the market, and the company has given me a 20% discount code to share, which is MHC20. In return, I receive support from the hydrogen bottle company, which contributes to my capacity to continue offering my study support group members my research support time and energy for free. If you have an audience keen to explore hydrogen rich water and want to share your discount link for these great bottles, you can sign up here.