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ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Two Mayo Clinic patients whose prostate cancer had been considered inoperable are now cancer free thanks in part to an experimental drug therapy that was used in combination with standardized hormone treatment and radiation therapy. The men were participating in a clinical trial of an immunotherapeutic agent called MDX-010 or ipilimumab. In these two cases, physicians say the approach initiated the death of a majority of cancer cells and caused the tumors to shrink dramatically, allowing surgery. In both cases, the aggressive tumors had grown well beyond the prostate into the

Derived from the cap and stem of the mushroom, Reishi mushroom is used as an immune stimulant by patients with HIV or cancer. The active constituents are thought to include both beta-glucan polysaccharides and triterpenes (1). Extracts of Reishi can stimulate macrophages and alter the levels of TNF and interleukins (2) (3) (4) (5). Reishi also inhibited platelet aggregation (11) (12) and improved lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men (9) (10). Studies done in rats have shown that Reishi extract may alleviate chemotherapy-induced nausea (13). In clinical studies, Reishi increased plasma antioxidant capacity (6) (7)and enhanced immune responses in advance-stage cancer patients (8).

A large number of new vitamin D studies have appeared in the scientific literature since I wrote my plea to the federal government. These studies don't just confirm what we knew 16 months ago-they show that optimizing vitamin D intake will save even more lives than what we projected. Vitamin D More Effective Than Previously Known For instance, a study published in June 2008 showed that men with low vitamin D levels suffer 2.42 times more heart attacks. Now look what this means in actual body counts.

Berberine, a natural product, induces G1-phase cell cycle arrest and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in human prostate carcinoma cells. Mantena SK, Sharma SD, Katiyar SK. Mol Cancer Ther. 2006 Feb;5(2):296-308. PMID: 16505103 doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-05-0448 The effectiveness of berberine in checking the growth of androgen-insensitive, as well as androgen-sensitive, prostate cancer cells without affecting the growth of normal prostate epithelial cells indicates that it may be a promising candidate for prostate cancer therapy. The evaluation of ancient herbal medicines may indicate novel strategies for the treatment of prostate cancer, which remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men (1). In our present investigation, we show that a naturally occurring isoquinoline alkaloid, berberine, significantly inhibits the proliferation and reduces the viability of DU145 and PC-3 as well as LNCaP cells (Fig. 1), which suggests that berberine may be an effective chemotherapeutic agent against both androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive prostate cancer cells. Importantly, we found that berberine did not exhibit toxicity to nonneoplastic human prostate epithelial cells under the conditions used, except for a moderate reduction in cell viability at higher concentrations when cells were treated in vitro for an extended period of time. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that berberine inhibits proliferation and induces G1-phase arrest and apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells but not in normal human prostate epithelial cells. In addition, we provide mechanistic evidence that berberine-induced apoptosis in prostate carcinoma cells, particularly hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma cells, is mediated through enhanced expression of Bax, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and activation of caspase-3.

MedWire News: Among patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer, there is no link between circulating steroid hormone levels and Gleason score, conclude US investigators.

The recommendations, to be officially announced on Tuesday by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, affect more than 44 million men age 50 and older who typically are candidates for a simple blood screen call the prostate-specific antigen (P.S.A.) test.

Serum Vitamin D and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Case-Control Analysis Nested Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Travis RC, Crowe FL, Allen NE, Appleby PN, Roddam AW, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Linseisen J, Kaaks R, Boeing H, Kröger J, Trichopoulou A, Dilis V, Trichopoulos D, Vineis P, Palli D, Tumino R, Sieri S, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, van Duijnhoven FJ, Chirlaque MD, Barricarte A, Larrañaga N, González CA, Argüelles MV, Sánchez MJ, Stattin P, Hallmans G, Khaw KT, Bingham S, Rinaldi S, Slimani N, Jenab M, Riboli E, Key TJ. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19359375 doi:10.1093/aje/kwp022

new (March 24th) report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, shows that Omega-3 fatty acids appear protective against advanced prostate cancer. Dr. John S. Witte, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, says that previous research has shown protection against prostate cancer, but that this is one of the first studies to show protection against advanced prostate cancer.

Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Cyclooxygenase-2 Genetic Variation, and Aggressive Prostate Cancer Risk. Fradet V, Cheng I, Casey G, Witte JS. Clin Cancer Res. 2009 Mar 24. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19318492 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-2503

Bioavailability and Kinetics of Sulforaphane in Humans after Consumption of Cooked versus Raw Broccoli Martijn Vermeulen*, Ineke W. A. A. Klpping-Ketelaars†, Robin van den Berg‡ and Wouter H. J. Vaes J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56 (22), pp 10505-10509 Publication Date (Web): October 24, 2008 (Article) DOI: 10.1021/jf801989e

Phase I clinical trial of a selective inhibitor of CYP17, abiraterone acetate, confirms that castration-resistant prostate cancer commonly remains hormone driven. Attard G, Reid AH, Yap TA, Raynaud F, Dowsett M, Settatree S, Barrett M, Parker C, Martins V, Folkerd E, Clark J, Cooper CS, Kaye SB, Dearnaley D, Lee G, de Bono JS. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Oct 1;26(28):4563-71. Epub 2008 Jul 21. PMID: 18645193 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2007.15.9749

Pilot study: potential role of vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) in patients with PSA relapse after definitive therapy. Woo TC, Choo R, Jamieson M, Chander S, Vieth R. Nutr Cancer. 2005;51(1):32-6. PMID: 15749627