Research
Herbal Extract Fights Drug-Resistant Lung Cancer
Sadava D, Still DW, Mudry RR, Kane SE. Effect of Ganoderma on drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant small-cell lung carcinoma cells. Cancer Letters. 2009.
The Chinese herb Ganoderma kills small-cell lung cancer cells that are resistant to many chemotherapy drugs, and it may prove a life-saving addition to current cancer therapy, according to a new study in Cancer Letters.
Small-cell lung cancer is particularly difficult to treat because the cancer spreads rapidly throughout the body, rather than forming large tumors that can be removed surgically. To treat this cancer, doctors typically turn to chemotherapy, which attacks cancer cells throughout the body.
Chemotherapy can have severe side effects though, because it attacks healthy cells as well as cancerous ones. And over time, lung cancer can become resistant to the effects of chemotherapy, rendering it virtually ineffective. "The chemotherapy would still work, but you'd have to use a dose that would be so toxic that the patient could not tolerate it,"...
Mushrooms may work wonders in cancer treatment and prevention
Cancer Research UK 18 August 2002
Exotic mushrooms could herald a new era of cancer treatment and prevention as the Western world learns lessons from the Orient according to a report released by Cancer Research UK.
The charity has produced the world's most comprehensive review of information about the way medicinal mushrooms are used in Japan, China and Korea where they have been reported to have anti-tumour properties and to stimulate the immune system to fight disease.
It also documents evidence from studies in the Far East that medicinal mushrooms can help reduce side effects from radio- and chemotherapy and significantly improve the quality of life in patients with advanced cancer...
