Cancer News

ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2002) — Researchers have discovered that a molecule best known for its anti-microbial properties also has the ability to activate key cells in the immune response. This newly discovered function, reported in the Nov. 1, 2002, issue of Science, suggests the molecule, a peptide called ß-defensin 2, may be useful in the development of more effective cancer vaccines. Scientists have found that ß-defensin 2 initiates a chain of events leading to the growth and multiplication of T cells, components of the immune system that recognize and kill foreign cells that have invaded the body.

Defensins are known to be an important component of the body’s immediate response to infection. ß-defensin 2 attacks and destroys a broad range of bacteria as part of the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against such infections.

The new finding links ß-defensin 2 to the second arm of the immune system, adaptive immunity. The adaptive immune response combats pathogens that evade the body’s initial defense mechanisms. Unlike innate immunity, the adaptive immune system develops specifically in response to an infection, changing as needed to ward off each invader.

“This link between the innate and adaptive immune systems is important for our understanding of the body’s ability to detect infection,” said Arya Biragyn, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute (NCI) staff scientist and first author of the study. “ß-defensin 2 is likely to play an important role in the immune system’s ability to recognize protein fragments from the body’s own cells, including tumor cells.”

Working in both mice and laboratory cell cultures, Biragyn and his colleagues found that ß-defensin 2 directly activates immune cells known as dendritic cells. Once activated, dendritic cells interact with other components of the immune system to stimulate the multiplication of a subset of T cells that will recognize and destroy infected cells. Dendritic cells can also trigger attack of tumor cells by the immune system.

“When we administered ß-defensin 2 to mice, we observed a robust response among cells involved in anti-tumor immunity,” noted NCI’s Larry W. Kwak, M.D., Ph.D., the senior investigator on the study. Researchers hope to take advantage of this property by incorporating ß-defensin 2 into cancer vaccines.

Cancer vaccines are an investigational therapy designed to program the body’s own immune system to attack a tumor. The vaccine does this by training T cells to recognize cancerous cells. Scientists hope that adding ß-defensin 2 to such vaccines will promote the growth and multiplication of the tumor-destroying cells, improving patient response to the therapy.

Similarly, researchers hope that ß-defensin 2 will also be useful in improving AIDS vaccines in the future.

For more information on cancer, please visit NCI’s Web site at http://www.cancer.gov

ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2007) — A daily dose of adult-strength aspirin may modestly reduce cancer risk in populations with high rates of colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer if taken for at least five years.

The Women’s Health Study trial recently reported that long-term use of low-dose aspirin (about 100mg every other day) does not reduce a woman’s cancer risk, but it did not examine whether high doses of aspirin have an effect on cancer risk.

Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues looked for associations between long-term daily aspirin use (at least 325mg/day) and cancer incidence in a group of nearly 70,000 men and 76,000 women. Aspirin use was determined by a questionnaire.

During the 12 year follow-up, nearly 18,000 men and women in the study were diagnosed with cancer. The researchers found that daily use of adult-strength aspirin for at least five years was associated with an approximately 15 percent relative reduction in overall cancer risk, though the decrease was not statistically significant in women.

Additionally, aspirin use was associated with a 20 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer and a 30 percent reduced risk of colorectal cancer in men and women, compared to people who didn’t take aspirin. There was no effect on risk in other cancers examined–lung cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, and kidney cancer. Aspirin use for less than five years was not associated with decreased cancer risk.

“Our results do not have immediate clinical implications. Confirmation from randomized trials is necessary before a reduction in cancer risk could be considered a benefit of using adult-strength aspirin. Our results indicate that a randomized trial examining the effect of aspirin on cancer incidence would need to be both large and long term, probably lasting a minimum of 10 years. More evidence is needed before any such trial can be justified,” the authors write.

Article: Jacobs EJ, Thun MJ, Bain EB, Rodriguez C, Henley SJ, Calle EE. A Large Cohort Study of Long-Term Daily Use of Adult-Strength Aspirin and Cancer Incidence. J Natl Cancer Inst 2007; 99: 608-615

Written by Dr. James Meschino, D.C., M.S.,
– Research and Clinical Director, RenaiSanté Institute of Integrative Medicine –

Recent And Historical Use Of Reishi Mushroom Extract
Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) is called “the mushroom of immortality” in China and has been used in Oriental Medicine for over 2,000 years. ^(1,2) In recent years its active ingredients have been the subject of intensive research regarding their apparent ability to help prevent or treat certain types of cancer, aid in the treatment of liver disease, HIV infection, acute or recurrent herpetic infections, high blood pressure, chronic bronchitis, allergies and asthma, and favorably modulate immune function. ⁽³⁾ The reishi mushroom grows wild on decaying logs and tree stumps in the coastal provinces of China. The fruiting body of the mushroom is used medicinally. ⁽⁴⁾

Active Constituents: Reishi mushrooms contain a number of active agents that are known to modulate function of the immune system in humans. The primary agents include:

1. Specific Polysaccharides - which occur in the form of Beta-D-glucans bound to amino acids. These agents are known to possess immune-modulating and anti-cancer properties. (3)
2. Triterpene compounds - known as ganoderic acids, which have been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce platelet stickiness and may decrease LDL-cholesterol. (5)
3. Other major active constituents - including sterols, coumarin and mannitol. (5)

Clinical Application and Mechanism of Action

1. Anti-Cancer Agent: Cancer studies in animals have shown a 50% tumor regression rate with reishi mushroom extract treatment (e.g., connective tissue cancer model in mice). ⁽⁶⁾ Reishi mushroom extract is used by some cancer surgeons in Japan to treat cancer patients and significant anti-tumor and immunostimulation effects have been noted in many of these cases. ⁽⁷⁾ Polysaccharides from reishi mushrooms and from other types of folk-medicinal fungi are patented in Japan for use as immunomodulators in the treatment of cancer. They are combined with chemo- and radiotherapy and have demonstrated an ability to reduce side effects, increase the efficacy of treatments, and are used to accelerate recovery from disease. ^(8,9)
   Studies from China have shown that reishi mushroom extract potentiates the tumoricidal capacity of macrophages and T-cells. ^(10,11) Reishi mushroom extract is known to have other immune modulating effects and antioxidant properties as well. ^{(12,13,14,15,16)}
2. Immune System Enhancement: (Bronchitis, Asthma, Allergies, Herpetic Conditions and HIV Infection) As noted above, reishi mushroom extract modulates many components of the immune system, which in part, account for its apparent anti-tumor properties. Chronic bronchitis in the elderly has been shown to respond favorably to treatment using a concentrated reishi mushroom product in a trial involving 2,000 cases in China. This study demonstrated a better than 60% success rate. After several months of treatment there was a noted rise in the levels of immunoglobulin A in the sputum. ⁽¹⁰
   The combination of astragalus and reishi mushroom extract represents an effective means of daily immune support and a therapeutic intervention for a large number of immune compromised states (e.g.,chronic fatigue, chronic bronchitis, herpes I and II recurrent infections, post-herpetic neuralgia, recurrent apthous ulcers or canker sores, the common cold, HIV infection, etc.) and for patients undergoing chemo-or radiation therapy.
3. Cardiovascular Health: (High Blood Pressure and Reduced Platelet Aggregation) Two human controlled studies revealed that reishi mushroom extract can reduce high blood pressure to a significant degree (systolic and diastolic), even in patients who had previously failed to respond to established anti-hypertensive medications. ^(30,31) Animal studies reveal that reishi mushroom extract reduces blood pressure through a central inhibition of sympathetic nerve activity, although it does not slow heart rate or induce a sedative effect in general. ⁽³²
4. Liver Protective Effects: (Hepatoprotective Properties) Reishi is prescribed in China for the treatment of chronic and acute hepatitis. ⁽³⁶⁾ Various ganoderic acids in reishi mushrooms have strong antihepatotoxic properties, ⁽³⁷⁾ which under experimental conditions have been shown to protect liver cells from chemically-induced injury, including protection from the highly toxic and lethal substance, carbon tetrachloride. ^(38,39)