Cancer

"Maté consumption plays a significant and independent role in the development of upper aeodigestive tract cancers," and "Maté drinking should be considered one of the risk factors for cancer of the neck and head."

American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting 2006.

Shannon J, King IB, Moshofsky R, Lampe JW, Li Gao D, Ray RM, Thomas DB. Erythrocyte fatty acids and breast cancer risk: a case-control study in Shanghai, China. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Apr;85(4):1090-7. PMID: 17413110 [PubMed - in process]

Brewer GJ, Merajver SD. Cancer therapy with tetrathiomolybdate: antiangiogenesis by lowering body copper--a review. Integr Cancer Ther. 2002 Dec;1(4):327-37. Review. PMID: 14664727 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

B. G. Redman, P. Esper, Q. Pan, R. L. Dunn, H. K. Hussain, T. Chenevert, G. J. Brewer, and S. D. Merajver Phase II Trial of Tetrathiomolybdate in Patients with Advanced Kidney Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., May 1, 2003; 9(5): 1666 - 1672.

C. Cox, S. D. Merajver, S. Yoo, R. D. Dick, G. J. Brewer, J. S.-J. Lee, and T. N. Teknos Inhibition of the Growth of Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Tetrathiomolybdate-Induced Copper Suppression in a Murine Model Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, July 1, 200

Pan Q, Bao LW, Kleer CG, Brewer GJ, Merajver SD. Antiangiogenic tetrathiomolybdate enhances the efficacy of doxorubicin against breast carcinoma. Mol Cancer Ther. 2003 Jul;2(7):617-22. PMID: 12883034 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Laskawi R, Ellies M. The role of botulinum toxin in the management of head and neck cancer patients. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007 Apr;15(2):112-6. PMID: 17413413 [PubMed - in process]

Awada A, Ismael G. The challenging integration of platinum compounds, taxanes, and molecular-targeted therapies in the multidisciplinary treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Curr Opin Oncol. 2007 May;19(3):177-9. PMID: 17414633 [

Specenier P, Vermorken JB. The role of taxanes and targeted therapies in locally advanced head and neck cancer. Curr Opin Oncol. 2007 May;19(3):195-201. PMID: 17414636 [PubMed - in process]

For several types of cancer, persistently high levels of the soluble factor TGF-beta in the blood after surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy correlate with increased risk of early metastasis and a poor prognosis. Using a mouse model of breast cance

Mullin GE, Dobs A. Vitamin d and its role in cancer and immunity: a prescription for sunlight. Nutr Clin Pract. 2007 Jun;22(3):305-22. Review. PMID: 17507731 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

beta-glucan A polysaccharide isolated from the cell walls of bacteria, plants, and fungi with immunostimulant and antineoplastic activities. In a solubilized form, beta-glucan binds to a lectin site within complement receptor 3 (CR3) on leukocytes, priming the receptor to trigger cytotoxic degranulation of leukocytes when leukocyte CR3 binds to complement 3 (iC3b)-coated tumors. Thus, the attachment of beta-glucan to CR3 of circulating leukocytes simulates leukocytes to kill iC3b-coated tumor cells in the same way as they kill iC3b-coated yeast. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)

White button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) exhibits antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties and inhibits prostate tumor growth in athymic mice. Adams LS, Phung S, Wu X, Ki L, Chen S. Nutr Cancer. 2008;60(6):744-56. PMID: 19005974 DOI: 10.1080/01635580802192866

Phase I Study of White Button Mushroom Extract in Preventing the Recurrence of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women Who Are Breast Cancer Survivors. This is a dose-escalation study. Patients receive oral white button mushroom extract twice daily for 12 weeks in the absence of a second primary ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive breast cancer, or unacceptable toxicity.ble toxicity.\n

A heat-stable extract of white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) with potential chemopreventive and immunomodulating activities. Phytochemicals, such as polysaccharides and especially beta-D-glucans found in the white button mushroom extract, bind to and inhibit the activity of aromatase, an enzyme responsible for the conversion of androgens to estrogens and which is often upregulated in breast cancer cells. The consequent decrease in estrogen production may result in the suppression of estrogen-dependent cellular proliferation. In addition, this extract may promote dendritic cell (DC) maturation, increase interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) production, and may enhance natural killer (NK) cell activity, thus amplifying both innate and T cell-mediated immune responses against cancer cells. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent.

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.

White button mushrooms appear to boost immune function It appears that a little fungus may be good for what ails you. That's the conclusion of a new study that found that eating white button mushrooms may boost the immune system and protect against infection. If the research, done on animals, translates to people, it could raise the health-benefit profile of the fungus, which also contains high concentrations of the super-antioxidant ergothioneine, which protects cells from damaging free radicals. "This is the first published study showing the effect of white button mushrooms on immune function," Dayong Wu, a scientist in the Immunology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts and lead author of the study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Nutrition, told NutraIngredients.com. The research also suggests that the mushroom may boost both innate and acquired immune system health. The innate immune system, the one you're born with, is the body's first line of defense. The acquired immune system revs up if a pathogen makes its way past the innate system and customizes the immune response to target the invader.