Efficacy of Orally Administered Superfine Dispersed Lentinan (β-1,3-Glucan) for the Treatment of Advanced Colorectal Cancer

Authors: Shoichi Hazama, Seiji Watanabe, Manabu Ohashi, Masashi Yagi, Michinari Suzuki, Ken Matsuda, Tatsuhito Yamamoto, Yasuyo Suga, Tetsuya Suga, Saburo Nakazawa, and Masaaki Oka

Journal: Anticancer Research

Study Design: Multi-center clinical study

Participants: 80 patients with advanced colorectal cancer

Intervention: Superfine dispersed lentinan (SDL) administered orally at a dose of 15 mg of LNT once daily for 12 weeks. The patients were also treated with various chemotherapy regimens during this period.

Outcome Measures:

• Assessment of adverse events associated with SDL and chemotherapy
• Evaluation of quality of life (QOL) using the QOL Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs (QOL-ACD)
• Evaluation of the binding ability of peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) to LNT

Summary: The study investigated the safety and efficacy of SDL in patients with advanced colorectal cancer receiving chemotherapy. The results demonstrated that SDL was safe, with only four grade 2 adverse events observed. Furthermore, SDL effectively suppressed the adverse effects of chemotherapy, with a lower incidence of severe side effects compared to chemotherapy alone. The QOL scores of patients, particularly those with initially low scores, improved significantly after 12 weeks of SDL administration. The study also identified the binding ability of PBM to LNT as a potential predictor of QOL improvement. The authors concluded that SDL is a safe and effective adjuvant therapy for improving QOL and mitigating chemotherapy-related side effects in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.