MUSHROOM EXTRACT , AHCC, HELPFUL IN TREATING HPV
Japanese mushroom extract appears to be effective for the eradication of
human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a pilot clinical trial at The
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School.
The
results were presented at the 11th International Conference of the Society for
Integrative Oncology in Houston today by principal investigator Judith A.
Smith, Pharm.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the UTHealth Medical School.
Ten
HPV-positive women were treated orally with the extract, AHCC (active hexose
correlated compound) once daily for up to six months. Five achieved a negative
HPV test result -- three with confirmed eradication after stopping AHCC -- with
the remaining two responders continuing on the study.
Currently,
there is no effective medicine or supplement to treat HPV, which is associated
with more than 99 percent of cervical cancer cases. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, several other cancers are related to HPV,
including 95 percent of anal cancer, 60 percent of oropharyngeal, 65 percent of
vaginal cancer, 50 percent of vulvar cancer and 35 percent of penile cancer.
AHCC
is a readily available nutritional supplement that works to improve the innate
immune system. Human and preclinical studies have shown that AHCC increases the
number and/or activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells and
cytokines, which help the body fight off infections and block tumor growth.
"The
results are very encouraging," Smith said. "We were able to determine
that at least three months of treatment is necessary but some need to extend
that to six months. Since AHCC is a nutritional supplement with no side effects
and other immune modulating benefits, we will be planning on using six months
of treatment in our phase II clinical study to have consistent study treatment
plan. This confirms our earlier preclinical research."
Smith
is director of UTHealth's Women's Health Integrative Medicine Research Team,
which focuses on the safe and effective use of nutritional and herbal
supplements with pharmacologic modalities as it relates to women's health and
cancer.
This
research is proceeding to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase
II clinical trial which has just begun at UTHealth,
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