Low Dose Naltrexone

Naltrexone is a pharmaceutical drug that has long been used at high doses in the treatment of alcohol and opiate medication addictions. Although it has been approved by the FDA for this purpose, research has shown that it might also be an effective off-label cancer treatment. Low-dose naltrexone, referred to as LDN, is given as a capsule in the 3 mg to 4.5 mg range for cancer, as opposed to the 50 mg dose given for addiction. Low-dose naltrexone might exert its effects on tumor growth through a mix of three possible mechanisms: inducing increases of metenkephalin; inducing an increase in the number and density of opiate receptors on the tumor cell membranes; increasing the natural killer (NK) cell numbers and NK cell activity and lymphocyte activated CD8 numbers, which are quite responsive to increased levels of endorphins.