The Potential Role of Medicinal Mushrooms in the Prevention and Treatment of Gynecological Cancers: A Review.

A review of scientific information about the potential role of medicinal mushrooms in the prevention and treatment of gynecological cancers, human immunodeficiency virus, and human papillomavirus infections is reported here. The results of in vivo and in vitro experiments on 16 different species of Basidiomycetes and three Ascomycetes, which possess chemopreventive potential and are effective in clinical application in combination with chemotherapy, are also discussed. Medicinal mushroom extracts confirm an evident efficacy on the reduction of tumor cell proliferation and side effects in patients with gynecological tumors who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments. This review, the first on the use of medicinal mushrooms in the prevention and treatment of gynecological cancers, aims to highlight the remarkable potential of mushrooms in integrated oncology.

Chemoprevention of mammary, cervix and nervous system carcinogenesis in animals using cultured Panax ginseng drugs and preliminary clinical trials in patients with precancerous lesions of the esophagus and endometrium.

The anticarcinogenic effects and mechanisms of the biotechnological drugs of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer cultivated in Russia, bioginseng, panaxel and panaxel- 5, were studied. Bioginseng was produced from a tissue culture of ginseng root cultured on standard medium, whereas panaxel and panaxel-5 were produced from ginseng tissue root cultures using standard mediums enriched with 2-carboxyethylgermanium sesquioxide and 1-hydroxygermatran-monohydrate respectively. All three ginseng drugs inhibited the development of mammary tumors induced by intramammary injections of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) in rats, the development of the brain and spinal cord tumors induced by transplacental administration of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) in rats, and the development of uterine, cervical and vaginal tumors induced by intravaginal applications of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) in mice. The ginseng drugs induced the cytotoxic activity of macrophages in mice, enhanced T-lymphocyte rosette formation in guinea pigs exposed to cyclophosphamide, and stimulated the production of thyroid hormones in rats. These mechanisms may contribute to the anticarcinogenic action of the ginseng drugs. The organic germanium compounds present in panaxel and panaxel-5 did not potentiate the anticarcinogenic or immuno- stimulatory effects as much as biogeinseng. Preliminary clinical trials with panaxel and bioginseng were carried out in patients with precancerous lesions of the esophagus and endometrium. Panaxel was found to have a strong therapeutic effect in patients suffering from chronic erosive esophagitis. Bioginseng induced the regression of adenomatous-cystic hyperplasia of the endometrium in some patients. Thus, we conclude that the drugs of ginseng appear to hold considerable promise for future cancer chemoprevention.

[The inhibitory effect of water-soluble and liposomal beta-carotene on various models of carcinogenesis]. / Ingibiruiushchaia aktivnost' vodorastvorimogo i liposomal'nogo beta-karotina na razlichnykh modeliakh kantserogeneza.

The inhibitory effects of the newly-developed forms of beta-carotene--water-soluble and liposomal--have been studied in rats and mice bearing tumors induced in 4 models of carcinogenesis. Mammary tumors were induced by single injections of 1 mg methylnitrosourea into each gland. Esophageal tumors were induced in male rats by intragastric administration of 3 mg/kg methylbenzylnitrosoamine, thrice a week for 4 weeks. Tumors of the vagina and cervix uteri were induced by intravaginal painting with 25 mkg dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, twice a week for 6 weeks. Tumors of the lung were induced in female mice by intraperitoneal injection of 1 g/kg urethane, once a week for 6 weeks. With models I-III, animals received water-soluble beta-carotene (Aquiton-10) with drinking water (200 mg/I), on completion of carcinogen treatment and for another 9-12 months until the end of experiment. Urethane-treated mice received liposomal beta-carotene with drinking water (60 mg/l) 10 days before the beginning of carcinogen treatment and for another 6 months until the end experiment. Water-soluble beta-carotene failed to influence the carcinogenesis in the mammary gland and esophagus in rats; however, it significantly inhibited carcinoma development in murine vagina and cervix uteri (47.0%). Liposomal beta-carotene significantly inhibited lung adenomas (46.4%) and mammary carcinomas (55.6%) in urethane-treated mice.

[The inhibition of the development of experimental tumors of the cervix uteri and vagina by using tinctures of the cultured-cell biomass of the ginseng root and its germanium-selective stocks]. / Tormozhenie razvitiia éksperimental'nykh opukholei sheiki matki i vlagalishcha s pomoshch'iu nastoek biomassy kul'tiviruemykh kletok kornia zhen'shenia i ego germanii-selektivnykh shtammov.

The anticarcinogenic effects of bioginseng and two germanium-selective drugs produced by cultivating cells of ginseng radix (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey) in a conventional medium or in media containing organogermanium compounds were studied. Squamous-cell carcinomas of the uterus cervix and vagina were induced by intravaginal applications of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene in mice. The drugs of ginseng were used orally or intravaginally during a long period of time of the postinitiation stage of carcinogenesis. All the drugs used locally effectively inhibited the development of induced carcinomas of the uterus cervix and vagina. When orally used, the drugs of ginseng exhibited only an insignificant tendency to inhibit the carcinogenesis of uterus cervix and vagina. The anticarcinogenic effects of the compared drugs were similar.

[Clinico-experimental study of using plant preparations from the flowers of Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim for the treatment of precancerous changes and prevention of uterine cervical cancer]. / Kliniko-éksperimental'noe izuchenie vozmozhnostei primeneniia fitopreparatov iz tsvetkov labaznika viazolistnogo dlia lecheniia predrakovykh izmenenii i profilaktiki raka sheiki matki.

The paper reports the results of the experimental and clinical evaluation of the administration of drugs prepared from flowers of Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim for cervical dysplasia and cancer treatment. Local administration of decoction resulted in a 39% drop in the frequency of squamous-cell carcinoma of the cervix and vagina induced in mice by 7,12-dimethyl-benz(a)anthracene treatment. Positive response was recorded in 32 patients (67%), including 25 cases (52%) of complete regression of dysplasia, out of 48 cases of cervical dysplasia treated with courses of ointment application. No recurrence was observed in 10 completely cured patients within 12 months.