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If you want to reduce your risk for getting cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a host of other diseases, the message is clear - eat a nutrient-rich, low-fat, high fiber diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables. So why is this wisdom forgotten when a person is diagnosed with cancer, and the standard advice becomes: "Eat whatever you want, whatever you can tolerate," even when this may include a diet high in fat and refined sugars. \n\nAccording to two of the country's leading authorities on cancer and nutrition, David Katz, MD and Keith Block, MD, the typical American high-fat, empty calorie diet can set the stage for an inflammatory response that actually fuels a cancer patient's disease, undermines treatment, and promotes malnutrition.

Inhibition of suppressor T lymphocytes (Ts) by cimetidine. Sahasrabudhe DM, McCune CS, O'Donnell RW, Henshaw EC. J Immunol. 1987 May 1;138(9):2760-3. PMID: 2952721 Cyclophosphamide (CY) is the most extensively studied inhibitor of suppressor T lymphocyte (Ts) function. However, repeated administration of CY can abrogate sensitization. Therefore, we were interested in identifying noncytotoxic inhibitors of Ts function as adjuncts in the immunotherapy of Ts-inducing murine tumors. The effect of cimetidine (a histamine type 2 receptor antagonist) and diphenhydramine (a histamine type 1 receptor antagonist) on the Ts mediating tolerance to 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene was studied. We report our data regarding the specific inhibition of Ts by cimetidine.

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.

What if we didn't try to cure cancer, but simply kept tumors from growing too big? That's what radiologist Robert Gatenby of the Moffitt Cancer Center proposes this week in the journal Nature. Gatenby argues that high doses of powerful chemotherapies wreak havoc on a patient's immune system and foster the rapid regrowth of chemoresistant cancers that doctors have no hope of fighting.  So instead of curing cancer, he suggests doctors aim to stabilize the tumor at a tolerable size. In practice, this would mean that doctors identify a target size for an individual tumor that gives the patient the best quality of life.  Then, they will regularly monitor the tumor's growth with medical imaging equipment like a PET/CT scanner (see photo), and regulate doses of anticancer drugs to maintain it at a precise volume.

Phase I trial of Seneca Valley Virus (NTX-010), a newly discovered systemically deliverable oncolytic picornavirus, in patients with solid tumors with neuroendocrine features. C. M. Rudin, D. Lansey, K. D. Burroughs, L. M. Hales, J. R. Neefe, P. S. Reddy and P. L. Hallenbeck Johns Hopkins Univ, Baltimore, MD; Neotropix, Inc., Malvern, PA. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2007 ASCO Annual Meeting Proceedings (Post-Meeting Edition). Vol 25, No 18S (June 20 Supplement), 2007: 18014 © 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Conclusions: NTX-010 is a novel first-in-class anticancer virus with selective tropism for tumors with neuroendocrine features. This is the first anticancer virus given intravenously with documented selective intratumoral infection and replication. Administration was well tolerated. Safety data and viral kinetics will be presented.

The immunobiology of mushrooms. Borchers AT, Krishnamurthy A, Keen CL, Meyers FJ, Gershwin ME. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2008 Mar;233(3):259-76. Review. PMID: 18296732 doi: 10.3181/0708-MR-227