The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Bastyr University in Seattle, Wash., a three-year, $792,000 grant to study the effects of certain species of mushrooms in strengthening the body's immune response to breast and prostate cancers. Research will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, and will focus on a type of mushroom called the "turkey tail," which is commonly prescribed by naturopaths and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
The project includes two basic science studies and a clinical trial. Laboratory and animal studies will explore the mechanisms by which turkey tail mushroom extracts interact with immune response pathways that defend against the formation of tumor cells. In the clinical trial, the extract will be given to women in conjunction with traditional breast cancer treatments. Data from the trial will be used to design future clinical trials to test whether the extract can improve immune function in breast cancer patients after completing conventional treatment. While the clinical trial involves breast cancer, the results may also have implications for prostate cancer patients.
