Cancer Cell Cycle: Decisive Effects of Breathing

Cancer cell cycle and uncontrollable growth of malignant cells primarily depend on cell oxygenation. Oxygen content in tissues, in its turn, is controlled by outer respiration. How? When breathing rates (or minute ventilation) exceeds metabolic needs of the human organism (or the person breathes more air than the physiological norm), arterial blood vessels, tissues and cells have lowered CO2 content.

Since CO2 is a dilator of blood vessels, low CO2 concentrations lead to constriction of the arteries and arterioles causing problems with blood and oxygen delivery. In addition, low CO2 values cause the inability of red blood cells to efficiently release whatever little oxygen they bring (the suppressed Bohr effect). Furthermore, since CO2 is also relaxant of the diaphragm, heavy breathers are chest breathers. (You can observe this effect in real life: those rare people, who have normal breathing, use their diaphragm for breathing; those, who breathe heavily, switch to chest breathing.)

Hence, there are 3 independent causes how and why over-breathing leads to cell hypoxia that causes acceleration of the cancer cell cycle and uncontrollable growth of tumors.

Interaction among ineffective breathing, genes, and environment

Since all vital organs are going to suffer from hypoxia, malignant cells can thrive in tissues and parts of the body which are most compromised in relation to their oxygenation. These weakest organs and body parts are individual (the genetic component of cancer). Toxic overload due to smoking, dietary toxins and poisons, radiation, and other causes can intensify local hypoxic effects in certain parts or organs of the organism (the environmental component of cancer). Further growth of the tumor and its metastasis are also controlled by the same factors, where tissue hypoxia plays the central role.

Circadian effects on cancer cell cycle

Since breathing has a certain circadian cycle, it is logical to assume that cancer cell cycle depends on these changes in outer respiration. For example, stress and strong emotions are the factors that make breathing heavier. Overeating and overheating are other examples. Therefore, development of cancer or growth of tumors is a dynamic process which is sensitive to changes in our breathing.

Where is the main threat or most favorite conditions for growth of cancer cells? For modern man, due to advance of numerous sleep-related abnormal or risk lifestyle factors, early morning hours are the times of severe hypoxia. It is well known that, from epidemiological viewpoint, that early morning hours, from about 4 to 7 am, have highest mortality rates for heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks, seizures, etc.. Even overwhelming majority of ordinary people can testify that they feel and perform worst after waking up in the morning, while people generally feel and perform much better during afternoons and evening hours. More information on circadian variations in respiratory parameters and cell oxygenation can be found here: Morning Hyperventilation effect (from Homepage).

Hence, early morning hours are usually the times of the most intensive growth of malignant cells. During the remaining part of the day the tumors grow slower, stagnate, or even regress depending on the current body oxygen level. Even short periods of overbreathing (20-30 minutes) creates tissue hypoxia, anaerobic energy production mechanism in cell mitochondria, formation of incompletely oxidized waste products and free radicals, weakens the immune system, and promotes growth of tumors.

Conclusions: Cancer cell cycle depends on tissue hypoxia that is controlled by 3 factors: breathing (and some lifestyle factors), genetic predisposition, and environmental parameters, where our outer respiration controls oxygenation of cells.

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