Mud Slinging against cancer researcher Robert Dowling, ND, and my rebuttals in his behalf
by Michael Forrest

QUACKWATCH: The program [of Dowling] was claimed to treat cancer "even before it becomes symptomatic and before it can be identified
positively through traditional techniques." Although the site did not describe the treatment in detail, it did offer a "new metabolic procedure" 
that selectively shuts down "cancer cells' ability to do mitosis through the destruction of ATP synthesis and through sufficiently 
blocking the excretion of lactic acid of these abnormal cells to kill them in their own acids." It further claimed that "Cancer 
cells have extreme difficulty controlling their pH" and that Biological Terrain Management can "take advantage of this weakness 
without hurting normal cells." There is no plausible reason to believe that any of these statements are true. Scientific research 
has shown that the underlying cause of cancer is genetic, not metabolic, and that the metabolic pathways of cancer cells do not 
differ significantly from that of normal cells.

my rebuttal: Yes it is generally agreed that cancer is due to genetic damage to cells, but that damage is the end result of some 
other process. Radiation, toxins, and cancer-causing microbes are what do the damage. The "terrain", or condition, of your body can 
be the determining factor in whether or not it becomes toxic or full of microbes. Too much meat and too little vegetables in the 
diet cause the body to become toxic. A toxic body has weakened immunity which allows microbes to proliferate. Removing sources of 
dental toxins/bacteria and returning to a natural diet can stop the development of a cancer tumor before it can be large enough to be 
seen on a x-ray photo. And there are natural supplements that affect cancer cells ATP synthesis and pH.

QUACKWATCH: "The Quantum site states that through digital infrared thermal imaging he discovered that "oral pathology is the primary 
factors for causing most, if not all degenerative disease and cancer." (Digital infrared thermal imaging—commonly referred to as 
thermography—has very little if any legitimate medical use. Moreover, the idea that the problems in the mouth could have such a 
broad effect is preposterous.) "

my rebuttal: see my first rebuttal to the Skeptical Society below which covers this same topic. And go to Quackpot Watch to 
read Tim Bolen's assessment of Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch.

SKEPTICAL SOCIETY  "According to Dowling, oral pathology is the magic cause of all disease. He said it caused cancer, heart disease,
and Alzheimer's. And when people asked what else might be caused by the bacteria in your mouth, well, Dowling was pretty sure that those
pesky bacteria were the culprits. [of Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Parkinsons, Diabetes]"

my rebuttal: Anything that lowers overall body immunity can allow the presence of any disease that should be disallowed by the immune 
system. That's basic logic. See http://northcarolinainstituteoftechnology.com/gpage5.html to see 
the science behind the claim that dental infections can suppress the body's immunity. Dr. Robert Jones, who has had his research 
paper accepted by the FDA, wrote: "As I have explored the causes of cancer it has become apparent that the real cause of cancer is 
genetic protein based, in other words, toxic inhibition of proteins within the cell structure allows or encourages a cell, or group of 
cells, to become malignant." Dr. Gerald H. Smith, author of  "Reversing Cancer: A Journey from Cancer to Cure" wrote: "It is 
estimated that 70% of all medical illnesses are directly or indirectly caused by human intervention in the dental structures 
(teeth and jawbones)." (see http://www.icnr.com/cs/cs_21.html)

SKEPTICAL SOCIETY: "Dowling claimed that neurotoxins from oral bacteria travel through the body, causing diseases."

my rebuttal: The study "Systemic Diseases Caused by Oral Infection" stated: "Recently, it has been recognized that oral infection, especially 
periodontitis, may affect the course and pathogenesis of a number of systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, bacterial 
pneumonia, diabetes mellitus, and low birth weight. Three mechanisms or pathways linking oral infections to secondary 
systemic effects have been proposed: (i) metastatic spread of infection from the oral cavity as a result of transient bacteremia, 
(ii) metastatic injury from the effects of circulating oral microbial toxins, and (iii) metastatic inflammation caused by 
immunological injury induced by oral microorganisms. Some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria have the ability to 
produce diffusible proteins, or exotoxins, which... have specific pharmacological actions and are considered the most powerful and 
lethal poisons known." Dr. Jones wrote: "P53 is specifically a tumor suppressant protein. When P53 is normal or not inhibited, tumor 
growth or start is depressed. [referring to the graph;] If you will note on P53 at 5 ul injection of the cavitation extract, the 
inhibition is already at 58.5%, any inhibition at over 12% will render functions to be ineffective. [A cavitation extract is rich 
with bacteria and their neurotoxins.] Root canal extract inhibits P53 at 29% at 5 ul, continuing on at 40ul at 87.5%. The 
interesting thing about these toxins is, it is estimated that a molar root canal produces 45ul each 24 hours!"

SKEPTICAL SOCIETY: "Dowling would not identify the bacteria, claiming only that they were the same ones in your mouth as always 
(giving you a mouth full of neurotoxin, all the time). Even if such a mechanism were real, then the blood leaving your “cavitation” 
with the lethal payload would travel throughout the body – or at least concentrate the cancers near the source of the infection."

my rebuttal: Dr. Jones, in his research paper, only referred to extracts from cavitations and root canals which are full of 
bacteria and their neurotoxins. He did not isolate and test individual ones which would of been too time consuming. Instead he 
kept it practical and tested the same complex (bacteria and toxins) that we experience when we have dental infections. 
The study "Systemic Diseases Caused by Oral Infection" listed these bacteria as the ones they discovered in the blood after certain 
dental procedures: Propionibacterium acnes, Peptostreptococcus prevotii, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, and 
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, P. intermedia, Actinomyces israelii, Streptococcus intermedius, and Streptococcus sanguis. 
The Societies assumption about the bacteria completely dispersing or just affecting the area around the infection is just that, an 
assumption. Their assumption implied that where cancers manifest have nothing to do with the area of the body that each tooth 
affects. see http://www.healthcarealternatives.net/toothbody.html to understand the relationship between teeth and body areas.

SKEPTICAL SOCIETY: "After claiming to have published studies, after claiming a 100% cure rate, after calling himself a doctor, he said 
that he had the proof."

my rebuttal: Dowling does not claim to have published studies himself. He refers to Dr. Jones and others who have published 
studies. Dowling does not claim a 100% cure rate. He says that dental infections cause cancer, which is backed 
up by the research of Dr. Jones, and that if the infections are eliminated that the body's immune system
will not be suppressed in its effort to destroy the cancerous cells. A naturopathic doctor is a doctor, although not the kind of 
surgery and drug pushing doctor that skeptics prefer. Dowling does have the proof of what he claims. Read it.

After RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE quoted Dr. Jones ("Inhibition of P21 [by dental bacteria/toxins] causes uncontrolled cell replication.")
the writer retorts: "p21/H-ras is an oncogene. That means it is protein that promotes cell growth and, indeed, mutations that turn on H-ras 
inappropriately drive many cancers, not "inhibition" of ras."

my rebuttal: P21^Hras is not an oncogene, but Hras (different from p21^Hras) is according to the medical dictionary which said it is a 
proto-oncogene which can cause cancer when mutated.
Dr. Jones uses the identifiers p21 and H-Ras equally: "P21 or H-Ras is the smallest protein yet discovered" probably because p21 is 
named p21^H-ras in other studies. This led to some confusion and a "gotcha" write-up by Respectful Insolence.
The study "Three-dimensional structures of H-ras p21 mutants" says p21 is a product of H-ras.
The study "Impact of Garlic Organosulfides on p21^H-ras Processing" correctly differentiates between H-ras and p21^H-ras in this 
sentence: "The diallyl disulfide–mediated inhibition of H-ras oncogene transformed tumor growth correlated with the inhibition of 
p21^H-ras membrane association."
The p21 medical definition is "P21 is a gene that functions as a regulator of cell cycle progression. The expression of this gene is tightly
controlled by the tumor suppressor protein p53." In other words, as Dr. Jones states, it regulates the rate of cellular replication.
The HRAS medical definition : "HRAS is a human gene that encodes a protein involved in regulating cell division in response to growth
factor stimulation. HRAS has been shown to be a proto-oncogene. When mutated, proto-oncogenes have the potential to cause normal
cells to become cancerous. Somatic mutations in the HRAS gene are probably involved in the development of several types of cancer.
These mutations lead to an HRAS protein that is always active and can direct cells to grow and divide without control."

Other supporting literature on the internet: 
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james34.htm
http://curezone.com/dental/root_canal.asp
http://www.hugginsappliedhealing.com/articles_cavitations.php
http://jada.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/136/6/716
http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/topics/oralsystemic.asp#general
http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=1442
http://cmr.asm.org/cgi/content/full/13/4/547
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/search?fulltext=relationship+of+dental+and+oral+pathology+to+systemic+illness