Speakers - 2025

Title: Efficacy and Clinical Safety of Warburg Therapy for Cancer Pain

Abstract

Cancer remains a major public health challenge worldwide, and cancer-related pain is one of the most debilitating symptoms for patients, especially in advanced stages. Traditional management typically involves opioids combined with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and adjuvant analgesics. While effective to some extent, these approaches often bring significant side effects and carry a risk of dependency, highlighting the need for alternative therapies.

Warburg Therapy represents an innovative approach based on the Warburg effect, first described by Nobel laureate Otto Warburg in 1927. The theory posits that cancer cells preferentially generate energy through glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen. Warburg Therapy exploits this metabolic vulnerability by inducing a controlled hypoglycemic state through insulin administration, lasting 40 to 60 minutes under close monitoring, during which low-dose chemotherapy is delivered. Prior clinical data involving 251 advanced cancer patients across 8,542 treatment sessions have confirmed the safety of this approach, with preliminary observations suggesting notable reductions in cancer-related pain, particularly pain from bone metastases.

In this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 71 patients with advanced cancer who received Warburg Therapy in addition to standard pain management. Pain intensity was assessed using the verbal rating scale (VRS) before treatment and after the last therapy session. Throughout therapy, vital signs including pulse, ECG, temperature, and blood pressure were continuously monitored.

Results showed that treatment regimens varied, with 53.5% of patients receiving 5–10 sessions and 21.1% undergoing more than 11 sessions, with the maximum being 23 sessions. The mean baseline pain score was 3.90, which decreased to 2.37 following treatment. This reduction was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Nearly half of the patients (49.3%) experienced ≥50% pain relief, 24% had 30–50% relief, and 12.6% reported <30% improvement. Seven patients had no change, and only three reported increased pain. Common adverse events were mild and transient, including sweating, palpitations, drowsiness, and dizziness, all resolving as blood glucose normalized. No significant laboratory or vital sign abnormalities were observed.

In conclusion, Warburg Therapy appears to be a low-cost, low-toxicity adjunct for managing cancer pain. It provided substantial pain relief for nearly half of the patients and was generally well tolerated. The potential analgesic mechanism may involve temporary hypoglycemia inducing tumor metabolic reprogramming and reducing lactate production. These findings support further investigation through multicenter, prospective, randomized studies to validate long-term efficacy and safety.