I’ve put this page up to help people who are interested in a beginning point for looking into the available research on the efficacy of mushrooms in the treatment of cancer. I’ll probably edit it from time to time as I learn  more.

A word of caution: Mushroom Extracts and products are not used as a substitute for standard cancer treatment–they are used as adjuvant treatment. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about the research you find linked here.

My dog had peripheral nerve sheath cancer,  a type that is known to re-occur, so I began this little research journey. I also take Turkey Tail Mushroom extract in order to (hopefully) prevent developing cancer as I age. The awesome up-side is that I almost never get sick anymore.

Note that some early studies were done using crushed up mushroom powder and showed little efficacy. Had the researchers researched a little better before starting their trial, they’d have learned that it is the mycelium (the actual plant structure, not the fruiting body known as the “mushroom”) that contains much of the anti-cancer product, and that the mushrooms themselves need to be soaked in alcohol for a month, followed by a several hour boiling water extraction (the 2 resulting tinctures combined) to have any immune effect. The mycelium extract from CM-101 or COV-1 strain is needed for maximum anti-cancer treatment. When you find a “health” website, be sure to Google the study that is cited, and provide that information to your doctor. They don’t have time to sort through “health” websites and default to journal abstracts as at least having been peer-reviewed. Good luck on your journey, whether beating cancer or preventing it.

Turkey Tail Mushrooms–also known as Yun Zhi and Coriolus Versicolor:

Paul Stamets TED talk—(shows off his mother who had stage 4 breast/sternum/liver/etc cancer three years prior)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXHDoROh2hA

Overview:

Washington.edu: scroll down to “efficacy”

http://depts.washington.edu/integonc/clinicians/act/mushroom_extracts.shtml

Mechanism (there are lots of mechanisms, but here are a few abstracts) Search www.pubmed.com for more:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18848763

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8318880

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12168863

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22185453

Clinical Trials:

Breast Cancer-

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2845472/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24856767

Lymphoma and Leukemia-

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15183073

Prostate Cancer:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21603625

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11115542

HPV-can no longer find the actual study, however, the study design is copied here. I’m sure a doctor could find it:

Dr. Jose Silva Couto and Dr. Daniel Pereira da Silva of the Cervical Pathology Unit of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology in Coimbra, Portugal presented their findings at the 20th European Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in Lisbon Portugal.

http://mushroomstudies.co/2010/09/03/clinical-trial-results-show-proof-of-concept-for-use-of-coriolus-versicolor-as-immunonutrition-in-hpv-patients-with-cervical-lesions-lsil/

Dog study—even dogs benefit!

https://news.upenn.edu/news/compound-derived-mushroom-lengthens-survival-time-dogs-cancer-penn-vet-study-finds

Host Defense Product (contains the best strain):

http://www.hostdefense.com/

Cheaper retailer of Host Defense–volume discount:

http://www.cordycepsreishiextracts.com/

AHCC (more expensive but potentially better):

What is it? Active Hemicellulose Compound (Active Hexose Correlating Compound) AHCC was developed and registered in Japan, and most of the studies have been conducted there. 

How it works (similar to how Turkey Tail extracts work):

http://www.encognitive.com/node/17913

http://ahccresearch.com/how-ahcc-made.html

Clinical Trials:

Lymphoma and Leukemia: not a great source, but lists the journal name for looking it up:

http://www.iherblibrary.com/the-patient-s-guide-to-ahcc/ahcc-and-cancer

The study’s authors, who published their findings in the International Journal of Immunotherapy, also examined the impact of AHCC on tumor cell growth in two different tumor cell lines: K562 (a leukemia cell line) and Raji (a Burkitt’s cell lymphoma). They found that AHCC suppressed the growth of both cell lines, with a higher concentration of AHCC (one mg/mL) providing the most effect when compared with a lower one. Overall, a one mg/mL concentration of AHCC resulted in a 21 percent reduction in the leukemia- like cell line and a 43 percent decline in the lymphoma cell line. Although the study populations in the above two studies were small, their findings suggest AHCC offers some potent anticancer activity and thus has a place in the treatment of patients who have cancer.

Success story for Leukemia:

http://m.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/paramount-pastor-uses-prayers-mushroom-extract-to-/ncdWf/

HPV Phase 1 Trial UT Health:

https://www.uth.edu/media/story.htm?id=3a86552a-5d2e-45a0-9659-f85ec6d38ce9

Phase 2 underway:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02405533

A bunch of abstracts for different cancers and oncoviruses:

http://www.humanclinicals.org/ahcc-1/