An Innovative Approach to Understanding and Treating Cancer: Targeting pH: From Etiopathogenesis to New Therapeutic Avenues

An Innovative Approach to Studying and Treating Cancer: Targeting pH describes one of the few characteristics of cancer that is not shared by normal tissues: the reversal or inversion of the pH gradient when intracellular pH becomes alkaline and extracellular pH becomes acid. This is now recognized as one of the most selective and differential hallmarks of all cancer cells and tissues, being the opposite of the condition found in normal tissues and a potential target in order to achieve either a stable disease or even regression with no toxicity.

The book discusses topics such as lactic acid and its transport system in the pH paradigm, mechanisms to decrease extra cellular pH and increase intracellular pH, NHE-1 activity in cancer, carbonic anhydrases, vacuolar ATPase proton pump, and the sodium-bicarbonate cotransporter system. Additionally, it discusses complementary pharmacological interventions, cellular acidification and extracellular alkalinization as a new and integral approach to cancer treatment.

• Analyzes the mechanisms that lead to the inversion of pH gradient in cancer tissues
• Summarizes almost 100 years of research on pH inversion in cancer in one single source, discussing the most relevant and updated researches in the field
• Proposes new efficient treatments against cancer using pH inversion mechanisms, either with new drugs like proton transport inhibitors and proton pump inhibitors (PTIs and PPIs) or with repurposed drugs

Tomas Koltai is Board Certified Specialist in Medical Oncology (1985), PhD in Chemistry (1997) and Master’s in Sciences in Molecular Oncology, University of Buenos Aires (2011). He has vast experience on cancer treatment at several positions: staff oncologist, Sanatorio Mater Dei, Argentina (1985-1990); Head of Oncology, Central Hospital of the Centro Gallego de Buenos Aires (1990-2000) and Medical Director, at the same institution (2000-2002); Head of the Department of Chemotherapy, National Social Services for Retirees, Argentina (2002-2014); Head of the Department of Oncology, Social Services of the National Food Workers Union, Argentina (2010-2014) and Medical Director at the same institution (2014-2016). He has authored several seminal publications on cancer and created the new “triple-edged cancer treatment”.

Stephan Reshkin, PhD, is molecular biologist and Associate Professor at the University of Bari (Italy). Dr. Reshkin has published 108 scientific papers, several book chapters and co-authored An Innovative Approach to Understanding and Treating Cancer: Targeting pH (Elsevier, 2020). His main research interests are cancer cell and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Specialty in Medical Endocrinology, Royal Infirmary Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Scotland (1974-1977) and Department of Endocrinology, Eugene Taldmage Memorial Hospital, USA (1977-1981). Specialty in Medical Oncology, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, USA (1981-1985). Consultant in Medical Oncologist, University Clinic, Spain ( 1985-2000).
He co-founded and was Vice-president of the International Society for Proton Dynamics of Cancer (ISPDC) (2008). Co-editor and author on a special issue in Seminars in Cancer Biology (2017) entitled “The new pH-centric anticancer paradigm in Oncology and Medicine”.
Harguindey has published more than 140 scientific publications on a new and integral approach to the understanding of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases based upon hydrogen ion dynamics, from etiopathogenesis to treatment, that he originally and singlehandedly created.