Core Insight: Animal experiments have demonstrated that GanoExtra can enhance the tumor-inhibiting effects of cyclophosphamide while reducing its adverse reactions. It promotes the proliferation of CD8+ T cells (cytotoxic T cells) to bolster the body's immune efficacy.

 

 

“The combination of Reishi with chemotherapy drugs can enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity” refers to an ideal state that can be achieved when Reishi is cultivated and processed properly. However, when different varieties of Reishi undergo varying cultivation and harvesting conditions and are then made into different formulations through various processes, the extent to which they can be “effective” must be scientifically evaluated to reveal the true results.

 

In July 2024, Professor Jia Li’s team from the Materials and Chemical Engineering School at Minjiang University collaborated with Fujian Xianzhilou Biological Science and Technology Co., Ltd. to publish their findings in Volume 40, Issue 7 of Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin. The article titled "Enhancing the Efficacy and Reducing the Toxicity of Cyclophosphamide in Inhibiting Lung Metastasis of Mouse Breast Cancer with GanoExtra" investigates whether a specific Reishi product can effectively improve chemotherapy outcomes and mitigate side effects, providing valuable information for clinical applications.

 

GanoExtra vs. Cyclophosphamide

 

The Reishi formulation used in this study, GanoExtra, consists of water and alcohol extracts of Reishi fruiting bodies and sporoderm-broken Reishi spore powder, with triterpenoid content ≥8% and crude polysaccharide content ≥10%. It was granted its health food approval number as early as 2006 and is recognized for three main health functions: "boosts the immune system," "provides auxiliary protection against chemical liver injury," and "offers auxiliary protection against radiation hazards."

 

Last year (2023), a study published by the team from Minjiang University and Xianzhilou in an international journal further demonstrated that GanoExtra not only induces "pyroptosis" in breast cancer cells in vitro, thereby inhibiting the survival, migration, and invasion of cancer cells, but also enhances anti-tumor immunity in mice with surgically removed breast tumors through oral administration, reducing the occurrence of lung metastasis.

 

Given that GanoExtra's potential to inhibit lung metastasis of breast cancer has been confirmed, this study further combined it with the commonly used traditional chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide in an animal model of breast cancer lung metastasis to evaluate whether GanoExtra also has application value in enhancing the efficacy and reducing the toxicity of chemotherapy.

 

The researchers first injected the highly tumorigenic and invasive triple-negative breast cancer cells (4T1) into the tail vein of the mice to simulate the scenario of cancer cells detaching from the primary tumor and entering the bloodstream in an attempt to metastasize. Starting the next day, a 21-day experiment was conducted, during which the mice were administered GanoExtra, cyclophosphamide, a combination of both, or no treatment at all, and the results were compared with those of a healthy, cancer-free control group of mice (as detailed in the table below).

 

 

Results 1: GanoExtra enhances efficacy, improving cyclophosphamide's suppression of breast cancer lung metastasis.

 

After 21 days of experimentation, the untreated group showed numerous metastatic nodules (abnormal proliferations of small lumps) in the lung tissue, and the pathological morphology of the lung tissue underwent significant changes. In contrast, treatment with GanoExtra, cyclophosphamide, or the combination of both reduced the number of lung nodules and protected lung tissue, with the combination of "GanoExtra + cyclophosphamide" showing the most significant inhibitory effect on lung metastasis. The morphology of the lung tissue and the lung coefficient (the proportion of lung weight to total body weight) in this group were also closest to those of the healthy control group.

Result 2: GanoExtra has a toxicity-reducing effect, which alleviates the adverse reactions caused by cyclophosphamide and cancer.

 

Typically, an increase in a drug's efficacy is accompanied by an increase in side effects. Fortunately, GanoExtra only enhances the efficacy of cyclophosphamide while reducing its side effects. For example:

 

(1) Reduction in weight loss: Cancer itself, along with the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by cyclophosphamide, can lead to weight loss. This explains why, at the end of the experiment, the weights of the untreated mice and those given only cyclophosphamide were significantly lower than those of the normal group. In contrast, the weights of the GanoExtra group and the “GanoExtra + cyclophosphamide” group were much closer to normal, indicating that GanoExtra can help improve the weight loss issue caused by cyclophosphamide.

 

 

(2) Alleviation of the severity of hemoglobin concentration reduction: The inhibitory effect of cyclophosphamide on bone marrow cells reduces the number of red blood cells and lowers hemoglobin concentration (which diminishes the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen), leading to fatigue and weakness associated with anemia. Additionally, the body’s response to cancer may cause more newly formed bone marrow cells to differentiate into white blood cells, indirectly affecting the number of red blood cells.

 

As seen in this experiment, both the untreated group and the cyclophosphamide group showed a significant reduction in red blood cell counts, with a notable decrease in hemoglobin concentration in the cyclophosphamide group. Although GanoExtra has a positive effect on red blood cell counts, when used in combination with cyclophosphamide, the red blood cell count remained similar to that of the cyclophosphamide-only group. However, the hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher than in the cyclophosphamide group. This indicates that during the 21-day experimental period, GanoExtra was not sufficient to completely offset the damage caused by cyclophosphamide (perhaps protective effects would emerge with longer treatment), but it was able to alleviate the severity of the reduction in hemoglobin concentration caused by cyclophosphamide.

 

Result 3: GanoExtra can regulate the immune system, enhancing anti-tumor immunity without overstimulation.

 

The above results demonstrating "enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity" confirm the application value of GanoExtra, a Reishi health supplement, in supporting chemotherapy. GanoExtra reduces the toxicity of cyclophosphamide through its protective effects on tissue cells, while the enhanced efficacy of cyclophosphamide in inhibiting lung metastasis of breast cancer is associated with GanoExtra's immune-regulating effects.

 

(1) Avoiding the Risk of Immune Overactivation:
According to this study, under continuous stimulation by breast cancer cells for 21 days, the spleen—home to T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, and other lymphocytes—accounted for more than twice the proportion of body weight in the untreated group compared to the normal control group. Additionally, the white blood cell count, which includes all immune cells in circulation, was as much as eight times that of the normal control group.

 

This indicates that, without any therapeutic drugs or health supplements, the immune system may become overactivated in its effort to combat cancer cells. However, the persistent inflammation caused by this overactivation can, counterproductively, create a favorable environment for cancer cells and even harm normal cells.

 

Fortunately, this phenomenon of immune overactivation was significantly corrected with the assistance of GanoExtra, cyclophosphamide, or their combination. Moreover, both the spleen index and the white blood cell count in the “GanoExtra + cyclophosphamide” group were closer to the range of “moderate activation rather than overactivation” compared to the cyclophosphamide group, indicating that GanoExtra can help mitigate the risk of immune overactivation.

 

(2) Enhancing Antitumor Immunity:  

In addition, this study observed that compared to cyclophosphamide alone, the “GanoExtra + cyclophosphamide” combination significantly increased the proportion of CD8+ T cells (cytotoxic T cells) among leukocytes in the blood, as well as elevated the levels of serum TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor α) and IL-6 (interleukin-6). CD8+ T cells can directly kill cancer cells and induce apoptosis through the secretion of TNF-α, while IL-6 activates T cells and promotes B cell antibody production. This suggests that GanoExtra may enhance the body’s antitumor immunity through these mechanisms, thereby achieving the effect of inhibiting tumor metastasis.

 

Choose the Right Allies to Gain the Upper Hand.

 

At this point, it should be clear that the GanoExtra health supplement is a gentle, rather than aggressive, approach that simultaneously regulates physiological functions and protects tissue cells while working alongside cyclophosphamide to prevent breast cancer cells in the bloodstream from metastasizing to the lungs, providing valuable references for clinical applications.

 

It's important to note that this study's results are based on administering GanoExtra to experimental animals just as cancer cells enter the bloodstream, in conjunction with chemotherapy, rather than after chemotherapy has concluded. Therefore, selecting the right Reishi and seizing the opportunity are both essential.

 

Of course, regular and prolonged consumption without harm is also a necessary condition for supporting cancer treatment. Finally, attached are pathological tissue slices from breast cancer mice after 21 days of experimentation, excluding the lungs, along with a direct quote from the research report for reference: “Among the different treatment groups, there were no significant differences in the pathological morphology of the liver, spleen, kidneys, and heart, demonstrating that GanoExtra does not adversely affect the structure of major organs.”

 

 

Who says fighting cancer has to be tragic and intense? Perhaps gentleness is the powerful support for rebirth.

 

[Source] Lian Shu et al. GanoExtra Enhances the Efficacy and Reduces the Toxicity of Cyclophosphamide in Inhibiting Lung Metastasis of Mouse Breast Cancer. Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin, 2024, 40(07): 1335-1342. DOI:10.12360/CPB202412088.

 

 

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★ The original manuscript of this article was authored in Chinese by Wu Tingyao and subsequently translated into English by Alfred Liu. In the event of any inconsistencies between the English translation and the original Chinese text, the latter shall take precedence. For any queries, pls reach out to the original author, Ms. Wu Tingyao.