title: Livingston-Wheeler therapy.
abstract: Livingston-Wheeler's cancer treatment is based on the belief that cancer is caused by a bacterium she has named Progenitor cryptocides. Careful research using modern techniques, however, has shown that there is no such organism and that Livingston-Wheeler has apparently mistaken several different types of bacteria, both rare and common, for a unique microbe. In spite of diligent research to isolate a cancer-causing microorganism, none has been found. Similarly, Livingston-Wheeler's autologous vaccine cannot be considered an effective treatment for cancer. While many oncologists have expressed the hope that someday a vaccine will be developed against cancer, the cause(s) of cancer must be determined before research can be directed toward developing a vaccine. The rationale for other facets of the Livingston-Wheeler cancer therapy is similarly faulty. No evidence supports her contention that cancer results from a defective immune system, that a whole-foods diet restores immune system deficiencies, that abscisic acid slows tumor growth, or that cancer is transmitted to humans by chickens.
mesh_terms: D000192:Actinomycetales / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D006801:Humans; D007978:Levamisole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D007978:Levamisole