Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms with demonstrated effectiveness against cancer: Ganoderma lucidum (reishi), Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor (turkey tail), Lentinus edodes (shiitake) and Grifola frondosa (maitake)

Reishi Mushroom (link)

(Immune boost, anti-cancer, anti fatigue & depression, heart health, blood sugar)

Turkey Tail Mushroom (link)

(Immune boost, prebiotic---reduces ecoli & staph + increases good bacteria, combats hpv, antibacterial against staph and salmonella, improves insulin resistance)

Antitumor Activity of Extracts from Medicinal Basidiomycetes Mushrooms (Kidney Cancer), 2016

Aqueous extracts of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), Lentinus edodes (Shiitake), and Grifola frondosa (Maitake) were tested in vivo in rats with implanted kidney cancer. All three extracts slowed down the growth of kidney cancer tumors in vivo.

Excellent summaries of clinical research:

• Medicinal Mushrooms (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version (link)

• A Detailed Scientific Review of Trametes versicolor and Polysaccharide-K by the MD Anderson Cancer Center. (link)

Turkey tail contains a compound called polysaccharide-K (PSK) that stimulates the immune system. PSK is so effective that it’s an approved anticancer prescription drug in Japan. Turkey tail has been shown to improve the survival rate of people with certain cancers, fight leukemia cells, and improve the immune system of people receiving chemotherapy.

Preliminary studies have examining PSK include use conjunction with chemotherapy for colorectal cancer,[2][3] non-small cell lung carcinoma,[4] breast cancer,[5] liver cancer,[6] and leukemia.[7]

When used as an adjuvant, PSK appears to improve survival rates in patients with gastric (1) (2) and colorectal (3) (4) (5) cancers. It may also benefit patients with esophageal cancer (27). Findings from a study of PSP in conjunction with chemotherapy suggest benefits in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (6). PSP was also reported to act as a prebiotic and to modulate human intestinal microbiome composition (30). Studies of Coriolus extracts alone or in combination with other botanicals suggest positive immunomodulatory effects (7) (8). However, data on their effects on breast cancer (9), hepatocellular carcinoma (10) (28), or leukemia (11) are mixed. A meta-analysis reported reduced mortality risk with adjuvant use of Coriolus across a variety of cancers (29), but confirmatory studies are needed.

Efficacy of immunochemotherapy as adjuvant treatment after curative resection of gastric cancer. Study Group of Immunochemotherapy with PSK for Gastric Cancer, 1994

In Japan the standard adjuvant treatment after resection of gastric cancer is intravenous mitomycin plus oral fluorouracil. We have assessed the efficacy of protein-bound polysaccharide (PSK) in addition to standard chemotherapy in patients who had undergone curative gastrectomy at 46 institutions in central Japan. 262 patients were randomly assigned standard treatment alone or with PSK. The minimum follow-up time was 5 years (range 5-7 years). PSK improved both the 5-year disease-free rate (70.7 vs 59.4% in standard treatment group, p = 0.047) and 5-year survival (73.0 vs 60.0%, p = 0.044). The two regimens had only slight toxic effects, consisting of nausea, leucopenia, and liver function impairment, and there were no significant differences between the groups. The treatments were clinically well tolerated and compliance was good. Addition of PSK to adjuvant chemotherapy with mitomycin and fluorouracil is beneficial as treatment after curative gastrectomy.

Randomized, controlled study on adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK® in curatively resected colorectal cancer, 1992

A randomized, controlled trial of adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK®(Kureha Chemical Industry Co., Tokyo, Japan) in curatively resected colorectal cancer was studied in 35 institutions in the Kanagawa prefecture. From March 1985 to February 1987, 462 patients were registered. Four hundred forty-eight of those patients (97.0 percent) satisfied the eligibility criteria. The control group received mitomycin C intravenously on the day of and the day after surgery, followed by oral 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) administration for over six months. The PSK®group received PSK®orally for over three years, in addition to mitomycin C and 5-FU as in the control group. At the end of February 1990, the median follow-up time for this study was four years (range, three to five years). The disease-free survival curve and the survival curve of the PSK®group were better than those of the control group, and differences between the two groups were statistically significant (disease-free survival, P=0.013; survival, P=0.013). These results indicate that adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK®was beneficial for curatively resected colorectal cancer.

A randomized trial of chemoimmunotherapy of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in adults using a protein-bound polysaccharide preparation, 1984

The effect of immunotherapy with a protein-bound polysaccharide preparation termed PSK on remission duration and survival of adults with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) was studied in a prospective randomized cooperative trial. After having achieved complete remission and receiving a consolidation therapy, 73 patients were randomized either to maintenance chemotherapy or to maintenance chemotherapy plus immunotherapy with PSK. Ultimately 36 patients in the chemotherapy group and 31 in the chemoimmunotherapy group were evaluable. Six months after the last entry, immunotherapy with PSK showed a borderline beneficial effect on remission duration (P = 0.089) and on duration of survival (P = 0.062). When the data were analyzed 12, 18, and 24 months after the last entry there were no significant differences in duration of remission and survival between the two groups. However, analysis of the data of patients who had maintained complete remission for more than 270 days revealed that immunotherapy had a suggestive beneficial effect (P = 0.105), prolonging the 50% remission period by 418 days (885 vs 467 days). Thus, immunotherapy with PSK seems to be active in the treatment of adult ANLL when used for maintenance therapy in combination with chemotherapy, especially in patients with a good prognosis.

Immunochemotherapies versus chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment after curative resection of operable breast cancer, 1995

In our previous study, oral adjuvant combination chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, mitomycin C, and predonisolone (FEMP) after curative resection of operable breast cancer with vascular invasion in the tumor and/or in the metastatic lymph node was found to be more effective than one course of mitomycin C or cyclic course of mitomycin C. In the present study, we have assessed the efficacy of protein-bound polysaccharide (PSK) or levamisole (LMS) in addition to FEMP. Between January 1980 and December 1990, 227 operable breast cancer patients with vascular invasion in the tumor and/or in the metastatic lymph node were randomized into FEMP, FEMP + LMS, or FEMP + PSK. The risk ratio was lower in the FEMP + PSK group compared to the FEMP group. In disease-free survival or overall survival, there was no significant difference between the three groups, however, the survival curve of the FEMP + PSK group tended to be better than that of the FEMP group(logrank, P = 0.0706; generalized Wilcoxon, P = 0.0739). Side effects were observed at a low incidence, but they were mild and tolerable. Immunochemotherapy using PSK improved the prognosis of patients with operable breast cancer with vascular invasion.

Effect of Krestin as adjuvant treatment following radical radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients, 1997

To evaluate the efficacy of Krestin (PSK) as adjuvant treatment after radical radiation therapy (RT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), treatment results of 225 patients with NSCLC treated with RT followed by adjuvant administration of PSK between 1976 and 1989 were analyzed. Of these patients, 170 (76%) had squamous cell carcinoma. In the patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, PSK was given only when the tumor showed satisfactory shrinkage (complete or partial response) after completion of RT. The treatment outcomes were compared with those of the responders to RT not receiving PSK. The 5-year survival rates of patients with stages I-II and stage III disease were 39 and 26%, respectively, while the non-administered responder group's were 17 and 8%. These differences are statistically significant. An improvement in the treatment results with combined use of appropriate immuno-modulating drugs is anticipated in the future. When clinical trials of the efficacy of these drugs are conducted, the agents should be given to the patients with satisfactory tumor regression after RT, although they still take much time and cost.

Coriolus Versicolor (Turkey tail) and Ganoderma Lucidum (Reishi) Related Natural Products as an Adjunct Therapy for Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, 2019

Twenty-three trials involving 4,246 cancer patients were included in this review. C. versicolor and G. lucidum related natural products were significantly associated with lower risks of mortality (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.94) and higher total efficacy (RR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.55), but not associated with control rate (RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.14) compared with control treatment. There was no significant difference between C. versicolor related natural products and control treatment in the effect on relapse-free survival (HR: 1.19; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.55). Compared with control treatment, C. versicolor and G. lucidum related natural products had a favorable effect on elevated levels of CD3 (MD: 9.03%; 95% CI: 2.10, 16.50) and CD4 (MD: 9.2%; 95% CI: 1.01, 17.39), but had no effect on the levels of CD8 (MD: -5.52%; 95% CI: -23.17, 12.13), CD4/CD8 (MD: 0.73; 95% CI:-0.45, 1.91), or NK(MD: 5.87%; 95% CI: -1.06, 12.8). Conclusion: In this meta-analysis, we found that C. versicolor and G. lucidum related natural products might have potential benefits on the overall survival and quality of life in cancer patients.

Meta-analysis results of overall survival.

American Cancer Society's page for Trametes versicolor and Polysaccharide-K (link)

Donald Abrams, MD: Integrative Cancer Care (part 3) - UCSF (link)

The lifespan-extending effect of Cordyceps sinensis Cs-4 in normal mice and its molecular mechanisms, 2011