The Irish Cancer Society has questioned the efficacy of treatments being offered by Gabriel Stewart, a Portlaoise GP who claims they can reduce the incidence of cancer.
Stewart offers chelation therapy via two websites, chelationireland.com and drstewartsclinic.com, and says intravenous disodium EDTA has been shown to “significantly reduce the incidence of cancer”.
He insists that a Swiss study published in the Journal of Advancement in Medicine in the 1980s found chelation therapy “significantly reduced” the incidence of cancer.
Robert O’Connor, head of research at the Irish Cancer Society, said, when administered into the blood, EDTA binds to metals (chelation), aiding their removal from the body. There is “no evidence of it producing benefit”.
O’Connor said the Swiss study was “published in a journal which is not indexed by any mainstream scientific organisation”. It had relied on an anecdotal account of the experience of two alternative practitioners examining the prevalence of cancer on one street.
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Stewart also offers megadose intravenous vitamin C and claims that “when given intravenously, [it] acts as an oxidative agent” producing hydrogen peroxide “which selectively destroys cancer cells and viruses”. He said this treatment could be given “in conjunction with chemotherapeutic agents”.
Stewart’s websites include testimonials, including one from an unnamed individual who says: “Stewart saved my life. I am cancer-free, and have never felt or looked better. While the initial surgery to ‘debulk’ the tumour was invaluable, without the input of Stewart and his team I would either be dead or have poor quality of life.”
The GP charges €200 for an initial consultation, €250 for an IV EDTA drip, and between €250 and €320 for IV vitamin C drips.
O’Connor said high-dose vitamin C, also known as ascorbate, is undergoing early-stage clinical trials in a small number of cancers. “Laboratory findings are mixed and IV high-dose ascorbate has been shown to have negative effects in combination with some cancer treatments,” he said.
Brian Bird, a consultant medical oncologist at the Bon Secours in Cork, said chelation of iron had a limited role in protecting the heart from a range of drugs used in cancer treatment, although there was an increased risk of leukaemia. Chelation itself did not have a recognised anti-cancer role, he said.
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Derek Power, a consultant medical oncologist at Mercy and Cork University Hospitals, said the claim that IV disodium EDTA could reduce the incidence of cancer in later life had not been proven. The study quoted by Stewart had “never been validated with adequate statistics to prove the point”, he added.
Stewart also lists a further range of benefits from EDTA chelation, having become “convinced of the potential of this treatment for thousands of people suffering from heart disease in Ireland”.
Angie Brown, medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, said that “patients need to be aware that it is not a proven treatment for heart disease”, as the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (Tact) in America did not find sufficient proof of safety or efficacy “and further research is required”.
Stewart said he did not agree with Brown’s interpretation. “In fact, although further research was recommended following the Tact trial, it followed positive results for the treatment of heart disease.” Brown said that the Tact study suggested that there might be some benefit for a very specific group of diabetic patients.
Stewart’s solicitors pointed out that he had practised in the area of integrative medicine for nearly 20 years, including administering intravenous treatments, and none of his patients had ever experienced a serious adverse reaction.
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“All integrative treatments offered by our client are complementary to any conventional treatments prescribed for and accepted by Dr Stewart’s patients. All our client’s patients undergo thorough medical testing under Dr Stewart’s supervision prior to his administering any treatment,” they said.
Stewart qualified in 1971 at NUI Galway and spent 25 years working as a doctor in Canada.