Coriolus Versicolor-Over 400 clinical studies published in Japan since the 1970s have shown that a purified extract from the mushroom Coriolus Versicolor has strong benefits to the immune system when given alone or with conventional chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer. Known as polysaccharide K, or PSK, by researchers, this mushroom extract was selected as the best out of 200 that were originally screened by Japanese researchers for antitumor activity in 1971.
Probably the most impressive demonstration of PSK's antitumor function came in 1990 when the results of a ten-year clinical trial involving colon cancer patients were announced. In this Japanese study, 56 patients began taking PSK daily after having undergone surgery for cancer of the colon and rectum. Over a period of 13 years, the patients returned to the administering clinic-six hospitals were involved-about once every three months for evaluation.
According to lead researcher, Motomichi Torisu, M.D., of Kyushu University School of Medicine in Fukuoka, the survival rate of these patients was "significantly higher" than that of the 55 patients in the placebo group. Dr. Torisu also reported that certain crucial immune cells (leukocytes) showed "remarkable enhancement" in their activities, indicating a widespread immune-stimulating benefit. Dr. Torisu described PSK as a useful maintenance therapy for patients recovering from cancer surgery.
Many of the PSK studies from Japan have evaluated its performance as an immune-stimulator when used as an adjunct to various types of chemotherapy or radiation. Based on a ten-year study involving 227 women with operable breast cancer, researchers at the Gunma University School of Medicine in Gunma, Japan, concluded that using PSK as part of an immuno-chemotherapy program (involving five chemotherapy agents) "improved the prognosis of patients" with cancers of this type. It also produced better results than chemotherapy given alone.
The researchers suggested that PSK seemed to protect the immune system's activity from being suppressed by the chemotherapy drugs and by the toxic processes of the cancer itself. Another ten-year study of 185 patients with lung cancer showed that combining PSK with radiation therapy produced "satisfactory" tumor shrinkage and better survival rates for stage I (39%) and II (22%) cancers compared with 16% and 5%, respectively, for those not receiving this combination.
Similar benefits were observed in using PSK (this time, alone) with patients with gastrointestinal cancer. In this study, 29 patients with gastric and 18 with colorectal cancer were divided into two groups. Those in the PSK group received 3 g of PSK orally before surgery, either daily or every second day; patients in the control group took no PSK.
In those receiving PSK for only two weeks, researchers noted a significantly stronger response of the patients' immune cells (lymphocytes), whereas in those patients taking PSK for more than two weeks, the principal benefit seemed to be a strong increase in the cytotoxicity (cancer cell-killing ability) of immune cells. In both cases, it was clear that taking PSK orally produced marked benefits in the immune system's response to cancer.
PSK has also been used successfully in conjunction with chemotherapy to produce remissions and extend survival time in cases of leukemia. The average length of complete remission for 14 leukemia patients receiving this combination was 36 weeks compared to 25 weeks for patients receiving only chemotherapy. The average survival time from diagnosis for the group receiving the combination was 21 months compared to only 12 for those on chemotherapy alone.
Finally, a study involving 262 patients with gastric cancer also confirmed PSK's ability to enhance the anticancer effects of chemotherapy drugs. PSK given with chemotherapy improved the five-year disease-free rate (70% compared to 59% in a conventionally treated group).
According to John Seleen, general manager for JHS Natural Products which markets PSK as Coriolus Versicolor, the product also provides immune-enhancing benefits for AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, general immune suppression, and post-surgical recovery. Seleen notes that a typical daily dosage of 3 g requires taking five Coriolus Versicolor capsules (625 mg each), in divided dosages between morning and evening.
Introducing inForce Immune Builder
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