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Mushrooms could give the immune system a hand in attacking foreign invaders, if the effects in mice translate to humans.\n\nWhat's more, the common white button mushroom had stronger immune-boosting effects than more exotic -- and more expensive -- fungi such as oyster and shiitake mushrooms, Dr. Keith Martin of Arizona State University in Mesa and his colleagues found

Vitamin D may not just be good for you, it may help save your life. Recent research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that higher amounts of vitamin D in your diet decreases your likelihood of dying. Studies found that a vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of death by 26 percent, and vitamin D decreases the mortality rate from almost every type of cancer including breast, colon and prostate. Research also suggests that vitamin D helps prevent diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.

"NOTTINGHAM, England, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A drug derived from a mushroom -- cordycepin -- may be used to treat some cancers, British researchers say. Dr. Cornelia de Moor of The University of Nottingham in England and colleagues are investigating the drug originally extracted from a rare parasitic mushroom called cordyceps that grows on caterpillars. The researchers say low-dose cordycepin seems to inhibit the uncontrolled growth and division of cells and at high doses it also inhibits growth by stopping cells from sticking together. Both of these effects, they say, probably have the same underlying mechanism -- interfering with the production of cell proteins.

"Worcester, MA - Current research suggests that TNF-receptor associated protein-1 (TRAP-1) may prevent cancer cell death. The related report by Leav et al, "Cytoprotective Mitochondrial Chaperone TRAP-1 as a Novel Molecular Target in Localized and Metastatic Prostate Cancer," appears in the January 2010 issue of the American Journal of Pathology. Prostate cancer cells are often resistant to cell death. Researchers led by Dr. Dario C. Altieri of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, therefore, explored the role of TRAP-1, a protein thought to regulate cell death, in prostate cancer survival. TRAP-1 was highly expressed in both high-grade human prostate cancer lesions and mouse models of prostate cancer, but not in benign or normal prostate tissue. In addition, TRAP-1 overexpression in non-cancer prostate cells inhibited cell death, whereas TRAP-1-deficient prostate cancer cells had enhanced levels of cell death. Moreover, treatment with Gamitrinib, which inhibits TRAP-1, resulted in prostate cancer cell death, but not death of non-cancerous prostate cells. Therefore, targeting TRAP-1 via Gamitrinib treatment may be a viable therapeutic strategy for patients with advanced prostate cancer."

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at Amgen are testing a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activity of insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1 and IGF-2) and appears to reduce pancreatic cancer cells in early testing, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that a widely used anti-diabetic drug can boost the immune system and increase the potency of vaccines and cancer treatments. Their findings will be published June 3 in the journal Nature. The discovery was made by Dr. Russell Jones, an assistant professor at McGill's Goodman Cancer Centre and the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Yongwon Choi, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and postdoctoral fellow Erika Pearce, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania. They discovered that the widely prescribed diabetes treatment metformin increases the efficiency of the immune system's T-cells, which in turn makes cancer and virus-fighting vaccines more effective.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Restricting carbohydrates, regardless of weight loss, appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors, according to an animal study being published this week by researchers in the Duke Prostate Center. "Previous work here and elsewhere has shown that a diet light in carbohydrates could slow tumor growth, but the animals in those studies also lost weight, and because we know that weight loss can restrict the amount of energy feeding tumors, we weren't able to tell just how big an impact the pure carbohydrate restriction was having, until now," said Stephen Freedland, M.D., a urologist in the Duke Prostate Center and lead investigator on this study. The researchers believe that insulin and insulin-like growth factor contribute to the growth and proliferation of prostate cancer, and that a diet devoid of carbohydrates lowers serum insulin levels in the bodies of the mice, thereby slowing tumor growth, Freedland said.

Over many centuries, Frankincense oil has been found to have medicinal benefits. Now, an enriched extract of the Somalian Frankincense herb (Boswellia carteri) has been shown to kill off bladder cancer cells growing in culure. Research presented in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine demonstrates that this herb has the potential to become an alternative therapy for bladder cancer.

The April issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research published the results of a trial conducted by scientists at Tokyo University of Science, the University of Tsukuba in Japan, and Johns Hopkins University which determined that the isothiocyanate sulforaphane, a compound that occurs in high amounts in broccoli and its sprouts, helps suppress infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers and many cases of stomach cancer. The trial is the first to demonstrate an effect for broccoli against H. pylori in humans.

Edible mushrooms are a versatile functional food and have been touted as a way to preserve youth, longevity and overall health for centuries. Now nutrition researchers from Arizona State University and Pennsylvania State University are finding that they may even help boost the immune system and reduce inflammation, especially in the colon. Keith R. Martin, ASU assistant professor in nutrition, along with his Penn State colleagues, experimented with various types of mushrooms, from the more common white button to the exotic like shiitake and oyster, to see what sort of effect they had on the immune system. Their paper was published in late February in BMC Immunology, a peer reviewed online journal. "We found that the white button mushroom seemed to be the most effective in boosting the immune system, which is good because they are the most affordable," said Martin.

Mice injected with cancer cells experienced significantly elevated levels of C-reactive protein, white blood cells, and lipid peroxidation compared with control mice. These levels were reduced in animals that received cisplatin and/or DHA. While treatment with 125 mg/kg DHA inhibited tumor growth by 38 percent compared to untreated animals, 250 mg/kg suppressed tumor growth by 79 percent, which was a greater effect than that of cisplatin alone (which was associated with a 55 percent reduction). The combination of DHA and cisplatin resulted in an 81 percent inhibition of growth, while reducing elevated white blood cell levels (leukocytosis) to normal levels. Treatment with the higher dose of DHA alone was associated with a similar reduction in white blood cells, which, when elevated, are associated with tumor growth. A strong relationship was observed between tumor growth and white blood cell levels as well as C-reactive protein levels. In another experiment with rats treated with cisplatin, the addition of 250 mg/kg DHA prevented lethal kidney toxicity in 88 percent of the animals that received it, while none of the rats that received cisplatin alone survived.

New evidence by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and researchers in Germany shows that drinking alcohol is the greatest risk factor for acetaldehyde-related cancer. Heavy drinkers may be at increased risk due to exposure from multiple sources.

A new approach to cancer treatment called immunotherapy could spare patients at least some of the grueling battery of chemotherapy treatments by retraining the body's own defenders--the cells of the immune system--to recognize and destroy tumors. Now researchers at Harvard University have developed a simple way to do this inside the body: a polymer implant attracts and trains immune-system cells to go after cancer. The experimental approach has shown great success in animal studies, increasing the survival rate of mice with a deadly melanoma from 0 to 90 percent. The implant could also be used to treat diseases of the immune system such as arthritis and diabetes, and, potentially, to train other kinds of cells, including stem cells used to repair damage to the body.

"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who eat greater amounts of plant-based foods and drinks with the naturally occurring flavonoid, apigenin, may have a decreased risk for ovarian cancer, study findings suggest. Apigenin, found in celery, parsley, red wine, tomato sauce, and other plant-based foods may be "particularly beneficial," said Dr. Margaret A. Gates, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts. Flavanoids are compounds with antioxidant properties that protect cells against damage by oxygen molecules. In a study that compared flavonoid intake among women with and without ovarian cancer, women reporting the highest apigenin intake had a "borderline significant decrease" in ovarian cancer risk over women reporting the lowest apigenin intake, Gates and her associates report in the International Journal of Cancer."

MedWire News: Intralesional injection of interleukin (IL)-7 and IL-15 enhances the effects of radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) in inhibiting tumor development and metastases, animal study results show. RFA, used for the treatment of solid tumors and known for its localized tumor effects, may activate immune responses and thereby reduce the risk for local tumor recurrence or distant metastases through T cell stimulation. However, studies have suggested that additional adjuvant immunotherapy may improve the efficacy of RFA. This preclinical study, reported in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, was conducted to evaluate the effect of addition of the cytokines IL-7 and IL-15 to RFA in models of breast cancer.

Scientists have developed the first "personalised" drug shown to be effective against advanced melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer which is on the rise in Britain. Warnings about the risks of melanoma were heightened this weekend as the fine weather drew thousands to sunbathe outdoors, putting them at increased risk. "Binge tanning", where sunbathers allow their skin to burn in their eagerness to get a tan, is a key cause of the cancer. Melanoma, which starts as a blemish or change to a mole on the skin, is treatable in its early stages but once it has spread to other organs such as the lungs and liver there are no treatment options. Patients with melanoma that has spread usually die within months

Re-engineering a protein that helps prevent tumours spreading and growing has created a potentially powerful therapy for people with many different types of cancer. In a study published in the first issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine, Canadian researchers modified the tumour inhibiting protein, von Hippel-Lindau (VHL), and demonstrated that it could suppress tumour growth in mice.

"SCIENTISTS have shown that a new class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors, currently being tested in clinical trials to treat breast and ovarian cancer could have dramatic results when used to treat other solid tumours, according to work presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference today. "

Patients with larynx cancer who received a three-drug combination of docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) during induction chemotherapy were more likely to retain larynx function than were patients treated with cisplatin and 5-fluoruracil (PF) alone, according to data from a randomized controlled trial in the March 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A type of drug designed to stunt tumour growth has actually been found to fuel cancer if given at too low a dose. UK scientists were investigating a kind of drug called an anti-angiogenesis, still under development, which hampers the growth of tumour blood vessels.