To my Father,
Medicinal mushrooms have been used for hundreds of years, mainly in Asian countries, for treatment of infections. More recently, they have also been used in the treatment of pulmonary diseases and cancer. Medicinal mushrooms have been approved adjuncts to standard cancer treatments in Japan and China for more than 30 years and have an extensive clinical history of safe use as single agents or combined with radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
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1) Lion's Mane - (Hericium Erinaceus)
Erinacerin O and Erinacerin P are novel compounds obtained from Hericium erinaceus and Erinacerin P could be a potential novel glioma inhibitor.
These results demonstrate the effectiveness of HWE and MWE as beneficial antimetastatic agents, targeting their upstream signaling molecules for mediating the expression of the ECM-degrading proteinases. Acidic and alkaline extracts were not bioactive. Bioactivity seems to be related to composition. H. erinaceus edible mushrooms have the potential to serve as a health-promoting functional food.
2) Reishi - (Ganoderma Lucidum)
The water extract from G. lucidum inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and it induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at S phase via the cyclin-CDK2 pathway in human brain tumor cells. In addition, the G. lucidum extract significantly inhibited cell migration and mesenchymal marker expression based on the IncuCyte live-cell assay and qRT-PCR analysis. In summary, these anti-tumor effects in brain tumor cells suggest that G. lucidum may be useful for treating brain tumors.
Results showed that GL-PS increased the concentration of serum interleukin-2, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ, and enhanced the cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells and T cells, promoting the functional maturation of dendritic cells, thus resulting in the inhibition of glioma growth and prolonged survival of rats. Therefore, GL-PS may be potentially useful as part of the treatment regimen to regulate host immune responses and increase the antitumor effects of immunotherapy for glioma.
3) Turkey Tail - (Trametes Versicolor)
Turkey tail mushrooms act as nonspecific immune modulators A clinical trial conducted in 2012 found that breast cancer patients who took capsules of powdered turkey tail mushrooms recovered immune function after radiation therapy more quickly than those who didn’t take the capsules. Another study into breast cancer patients found the mushrooms appeared to boost the efficacy of chemotherapy. Other research suggests that compounds found in turkey tail mushrooms also have anti-tumor properties. A preparation made from the turkey tail mushroom, known as krestin, has been used as a supportive therapy in cancer treatment in Japan for decades. This includes not only breast cancer, but lung, gastric, pancreatic and liver cancer as well. Despite decades of study, the mechanisms at work here remain unclear.
Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor (turkey tails) is a medicinal mushroom containing a number of protein-bound polysaccharides that have shown strong potential in the treatment of cancer. This discussion examines the use of Polysaccharide Krestin (PSK), a proprietary polysaccharide extracted from T. versicolor, in the treatment of gastric, colorectal, lung, breast, and esophageal cancers. PSK has been approved in Japan for use as an adjunct to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy for cancer, and has shown significant benefits. This agent appears to act in part by restoring the balance of dendritic and T-helper cells and cytokines related to these cells' function and maturation in cancer patients.
My hypothesis is that that the documented immune modulation activity of the turkey tail mushrooms enhanced the ability of the patient's immune system to discover the tumor, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the chemotherapy. This is consistent with some of the basic science research describing medicinal mushrooms as modulators of molecular targets in cancer treatment. Three and one-half years later, this now 87-year-old patient leads a vital and active life, is disease free, and in addition to being administered Herceptin every 3 weeks, takes a daily dose of turkey tail mushrooms and a 17-species mushroom formula.
4) Chaga - (Inotus Obliquus)
In this study, we examined anti-cancer effects of the continuous intake of the I. obliquus extract using mouse models of tumorigenesis and spontaneous metastasis. The dose of I. obliquus extract (6 mg/kg/day) was calculated based on the daily intake of the extract as tea infusion in Japan. We also tested the real time body temperature using an implanted nano-thermometer. This is the first study showing that continuous intake of the I. obliquus aqueous extract suppresses cancer progression and maintains body temperature.
Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) was considered a functional food with an anti-cancer effect in colon, gastric, and lung cancer. Therefore, this study was conducted in order to elucidate the effect of chaga mushroom extract in brain cancer. Glioblastoma U-87 MG cells were used in investigation of cell survivability, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest analysis. Treatment with various concentrations of chaga mushroom extract resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest. Although caspase-3 expression was increased over 100 μg/mL of chaga mushroom extract treatment, apoptosis factors with Bcl-2, Bax and p53 did not change. In analysis of cell cycle regulatory factors, expression of cyclin D1 and CDK2 decreased in a dose-dependent manner. We have demonstrated the anti-cancer effect of chaga mushroom extract in glioblastoma, which may be mediated by activation of the caspase pathway and induction of cell cycle arrest.
These findings stress the critical impact of Chaga, a medicinal mushroom, on the higher brain functions like learning and memory.
5) Lactarius Deliciosus & Coprinus Comatus
Mushrooms as potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of cancer: Evaluation of anti-glioma effects of Coprinus comatus, Cantharellus cibarius, Lycoperdon perlatum and Lactarius deliciosus extracts Mushroom extracts influenced the viability and DNA biosynthesis of cancer cells. Activity of ethanol mushroom extracts was stronger than that of aqueous extracts. Anti-glioma mechanism consisted in inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis associated with arrest of cells in subG1 or G2/M phase of cell cycle, and inhibition of metalloproteinases activity. Among investigated mushrooms, L. deliciosus and C. comatus showed the greatest anti-glioma potential.
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This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the use of medicinal mushrooms in the treatment of people with cancer. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
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