Abstract
Background
Cancer patients commonly use dietary supplements to “boost immune function”. A polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake extract) showed immunomodulatory effects in preclinical studies and therefore the potential for clinical use. Whether oral administration in human produces measurable immunologic effects, however, is unknown.
Methods
In a phase I/II dose escalation trial, 34 postmenopausal breast cancer patients, free of disease after initial treatment, were enrolled sequentially in five cohorts. Maitake liquid extract was taken orally at 0.1, 0.5, 1.5, 3, or 5 mg/kg twice daily for 3 weeks. Peripheral blood was collected at days −7, 0 (prior to the first dosing), 7, 14, and 21 for ex vivo analyses. The primary endpoints were safety and tolerability.
Results
No dose-limiting toxicity was encountered. Two patients withdrew prior to completion of the study due to grade I possibly related side effects: nausea and joint swelling in one patient; rash and pruritus in the second. There was a statistically significant association between Maitake and immunologic function (p < 0.0005). Increasing doses of Maitake increased some immunologic parameters and depressed others; the dose–response curves for many endpoints were non-monotonic with intermediate doses having either immune enhancing or immune suppressant effects compared with both high and low doses.
Conclusions
Oral administration of a polysaccharide extract from Maitake mushroom is associated with both immunologically stimulatory and inhibitory measurable effects in peripheral blood. Cancer patients should be made aware of the fact that botanical agents produce more complex effects than assumed, and may depress as well as enhance immune function.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Tina Chuck, Kristine Brown and Carrie Trevisan (Research Study Assistants) for their work in this study. The study was supported by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Translational Research Grant and Grant Number P50 AT002779 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS).
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Deng, G., Lin, H., Seidman, A. et al. A phase I/II trial of a polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom) in breast cancer patients: immunological effects. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 135, 1215–1221 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-009-0562-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-009-0562-z