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Coriolus versicolor is a mushroom of the Basidiomycetes class. It was used initially in Traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic, but recent studies suggest that it has immunostimulant and anti-tumor properties. Polysaccharide-K (PSK), a proprietary product derived from Coriolus, was developed for cancer treatment in Japan. When used as an adjuvant, PSK appears to improve survival rates in patients with gastric (1) (2) and colorectal (3) (4) (5) cancers. Other Coriolus extracts, such as polysaccharide-peptide (PSP) and VPS, are available as dietary supplements. When used in conjunction with chemotherapy, PSP may benefit patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (7). Other clinical studies using Coriolus extract alone or in combination with other botanicals also suggest positive immunomodulatory effects (8) (9). However, studies on breast cancer (10), hepatocellular carcinoma (11), and leukemia (12) produced mixed results. A hot water extract of Coriolus, VPS, was found to enhance development of large intestinal tumors in mice (21). Coriolus extracts are generally well tolerated but minor adverse effects have been reported. Many over-the-counter Coriolus products are not standardized, making it difficult to compare potency between brands. It is also unclear if PSK, PSP and other Coriolus extracts have comparable effects.

"HOUSTON - A diet that incorporates a daily dose of pistachios may help reduce the risk of lung and other cancers, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9. "It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer," said Ladia M. Hernandez, M.S., R.D., L.D., senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and doctoral candidate at Texas Woman's University - Houston Center. "Pistachios are a good source of gamma-tocopherol. Eating them increases intake of gamma-tocopherol so pistachios may help to decrease lung cancer risk," she said. Pistachios are known to provide a heart-healthy benefit by producing a cholesterol-lowering effect and providing the antioxidants that are typically found in food products of plant origin. Hernandez and colleagues conducted a six-week, controlled clinical trial to evaluate if the consumption of pistachios would increase dietary intake and serum levels of gamma-tocopherol. A pistachio-rich diet could potentially help reduce the risk of other cancers from developing as well, according to Hernandez. "Because epidemiologic studies suggest gamma-tocopherol is protective against prostate cancer, pistachio intake may help," she said. "Other food sources that are a rich source of gamma-tocopherol include nuts such as peanuts, pecans, walnuts, soybean and corn oils.""

Targeted cancer therapy and gene therapy have been mentioned in the blue before, but oncolytic viruses are the hot young thing. For consideration in cancer treatment, an virus must replicate in and kill a high number of exclusively cancer cells, while sparing healthy tissue. A Philadelphia-based company called Neotropix has won awards for its research into a prime contender - the Seneca Valley Virus. It has been the subject of Phase I adult clinical trials, with Phase II adult and Phase I pediatric clinical trials to start this year. SVV has advantages over some other contenders in that it is a naturally occurring (lest we create a race of mutant zombies) organism and studies so far suggest it is not harmful to healthy human cells. While a number of other oncolytic viruses are being examined, NTX-010 seems able to treat a very wide range of common and rare forms of cancer, some of which are now considered uniformly fatal. In addition, unlike some other tested viruses, it can travel through the bloodstream to treat metastatic and not just local disease. Compared to the side-effects and late effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, and because many of the cancers ideal for treatment with an oncolytic virus have no surgical options, this may be the next big breakthrough.

Creative Bioarray offers 160 different cell types by experimenting more than 13 types of animals. All the cells are taken form living animal tissues. Our scientists also select primary cells of human and other animal for comparative testing between human and other animal cells.

"December 17, 2009 (San Antonio) - A new targeted cancer drug has been shown to shrink tumors in women with metastatic breast cancer after an average of seven other drugs, including Herceptin, failed. The new drug, called T-DM1, combines Herceptin with a potent chemotherapy drug. It's a Trojan horse approach, where Herceptin homes in on cancer cells and delivers the cancer-killing agent directly to its target. Tumors shrank in one-third of women with metastatic breast cancer given T-DM1, says Ian Krop, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. In another 12%, tumors stopped growing for at least six months. The women remained cancer-free for an average of seven months -- results unheard of in patients this sick, he says. All the women, who had breast tumors for an average of three years, had cancer that had metastasized, or spread to other parts of the body. They had been treated with an average of seven different therapies, including Herceptin, Tykerb, and Xeloda, and each had failed."

D structure of the virus, known as Seneca Valley Virus-001, reveals that it is unlike any other known member of the Picornaviridae viral family, and confirms its recent designation as a separate genus "Senecavirus." The new study reveals that the virus's outer protein shell looks like a craggy golf ball¬-one with uneven divets and raised spikes-and the RNA strand beneath it is arranged in a round mesh rather like a whiffleball. "It is not at all like other known picornaviruses that we are familiar with, including poliovirus and rhinoviruses, which cause the common cold," says the study's senior author, Associate Professor Vijay S. Reddy, Ph.D., of The Scripps Research Institute. "This crystal structure will now help us understand how Senecavirus works, and how we can take advantage of it." The Senecavirus is a "new" virus, discovered several years ago by Neotropix Inc., a biotech company in Malvern, Pennsylvania. It was at first thought to be a laboratory contaminant, but researchers found it was a pathogen, now believed to originate from cows or pigs. Further investigation found that the virus was harmless to normal human cells, but could infect certain solid tumors, such as small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.

Other compounds to consider

A recently published study in Nutrition and Cancer (60(5), 643-651) by researchers at Kansai Medical University in Osaka, Japan has shown that AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) enhances immune function by increasing the number of dendritic cells (DCs). DCs are a key part of the immune system responsible for presenting foreign substances to other immune system cells. The study was conducted in a double-blind randomized fashion where twenty-one healthy subjects received a placebo or AHCC at 3.0 g/day for 4 weeks. Blood samples were obtained and measured at baseline and at 4 weeks. The number of circulating types of DCs was measured which included CD 11c+ DCs (myeloid DC population; DC1) and CD11c- DCs (lymphoid DC population; DC2). Other parameters measured included mixed-leukocyte reaction (MLR), natural killer (NK) cell activity, the proliferative response of T lymphocytes toward mitogen (phytohemagglutinin [PHA]) and cytokine production of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, interferon gamma-gamma, and (alpha)-tumor necrosis factor.

Stem cells are unprogrammed cells in the human body that can be described as "shape shifters." These cells have the ability to change into other types of cells. Stem cells are at the center of a new field of science called regenerative medicine. Because stem cells can become bone, muscle, cartilage and other specialized types of cells, they have the potential to treat many diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. Eventually, they may also be used to regenerate organs, reducing the need for organ transplants and related surgeries. "Stem cells are like little kids who, when they grow up, can enter a variety of professions," Dr. Marc Hedrick of the UCLA School of Medicine says. "A child might become a fireman, a doctor or a plumber, depending on the influences in their life -- or environment. In the same way, these stem cells can become many tissues by making certain changes in their environment."

Berberine and Coptidis rhizoma as novel antineoplastic agents: a review of traditional use and biomedical investigations. Tang J, Feng Y, Tsao S, Wang N, Curtain R, Wang Y. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Oct 29;126(1):5-17. Epub 2009 Aug 15. PMID: 19686830 doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.009 Conclusions The modern evidences of treating cancer with Huanglian and berberine have a strong linkage with traditional concept and rules of using Huanglian in CM practice. As anticancer candidates with low toxicity, berberine and its altered structure, as well as Huanglian and its formulae, will attract scientists to pursue the potential anticancer effects and the mechanisms by using technologies of genomics, proteomics and other advanced approaches. On the other hand, relatively few in vivo studies have been conducted on anticancer effects of Huanglian and berberine. The clinical application of berberine or Huanglian as novel cancer therapeutic agents requires in vivo validations and further investigations of their anticancer mechanisms.

In vitro antiproliferative, apoptotic and antioxidant activities of punicalagin, ellagic acid and a total pomegranate tannin extract are enhanced in combination with other polyphenols as found in pomegranate juice. Seeram NP, Adams LS, Henning SM, Niu Y, Zhang Y, Nair MG, Heber D. J Nutr Biochem. 2005 Jun;16(6):360-7. PMID: 15936648

The Author The author of this site is the British writer, John Davidson. Please note that the author is neither a doctor, nor a qualified health practitioner. Every cancer patient should always consult his or her medical practitioner with regard to the use of complementary remedies or treatments, and nothing on this site should be construed in any way as medical or therapeutic advice. It is simply the result of one person's search for solutions. Please read our disclaimer. About This Site Internet searches trawl up vast amounts of information about cancer, from a broad spectrum of viewpoints. The information and internet links on this site are for those seeking to augment the treatment offered by their hospital oncology (cancer) unit. Of course, a great many other internet sites concerning cancer can be found by keying the requisite search words into any of the major search engines. The content of this site was initially prepared, at the request of medical and nursing staff and others, some weeks after I had had an emergency operation for the removal of a colon cancer, and while undergoing chemotherapy in case any cancer cells had gone AWOL. There had been some escape of cancer cells into associated lymph nodes (3 out of 17, including the most distal), but no other tumours had been picked up by a CT scan. When I returned home from hospital in September 2005, with the help of friends, I started doing some research on cancer. I was amazed to discover that despite the billions of pounds/euros/dollars etc. spent on cancer research, and the many advances in understanding the numerous variants of the disease, the standard treatment for my stage of colon cancer is still a drug (fluorouracil, also called 5FU) that has been in use for more than forty years, has uncomfortable side effects, and which only increases the chances of survival after five years by 5 to 10%.

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Many building products used in homes, schools, office buildings, commercial sites and other structures are known to contain asbestos.

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, together with other scientists, have identified the location of a genetic risk factor for a type of breast cancer that disproportionately affects women of African descent and carries a worse prognosis than other forms of the disease.

According to a recent YA study, doctors, nurses and other health care workers seem to be missing the chance to counsel patients with malignant pleural

Online Cancer blog tracks information on the advances in the study of cancers, and also other aspects of cancer related issues that concerns majority of people. Learn the latest information and treatment methods on prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, throat cancer.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 25, 2007) - Researchers from the Universities of Warwick, Edinburgh, Dundee and the Czech Republic's Institute of Biophysics have discovered a new light-activated platinum-based compound that is up to 80 times more powerful than other platinum-based anti-cancer drugs and which can use "light activation" to kill cancer cells in much more targeted way than similar treatment

European experts in cancer and nutrition are meeting in Zurich, Switzerland late this month to discuss cutting-edge research in one of the most important and fiercely debated topics in cancer prevention: the link between diet and cancer. There is growing evidence that many cancers may be prevented through healthy lifestyle, including a nutritionally balanced diet. In addition, nutritional problems can also have a negative impact on cancer management and the lives of patients. Other presentations will include new data on topics such as: Childhood nutrition and later breast cancer risk The anti-tumour effects of green tea Malnutrition and patient distress in cancer Possible anti-tumour effects of soy extracts in mice Estrogens in beef and cancer risk

A signalling pathway that influences how sensitive cancer cells are to the beneficial effects of dietary restriction is described in this week's Nature. Dietary restriction - eating less calories while maintaining essential vitamins and minerals - can extend lifespan, and reduce cancer incidence and growth. But some types of cancer cell are more sensitive to the anti-growth effects of dietary restriction than others, Nada Kalaany and David Sabatini report. The effect hinges on the activity of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. If the pathway is active, dietary restriction has no effect on cancer cells. However, if the pathway is inactive, tumours are sensitive to dietary restriction.

Online Cancer blog tracks information on the advances in the study of cancers, and also other aspects of cancer related issues that concerns majority of people. Learn the latest information and treatment methods on prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, throat cancer.