Improvement of QOL and Immunological Function With Lentinula Edodes Mycelia in Patients Undergoing Cancer Immunotherapy: An Open Pilot Study

Authors: Keishi Tanigawa, Yusuke Itoh, Yasunobu Kobayashi

Journal: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine

Study Design: Open-label, single-armed pilot study

Participants: 10 cancer patients undergoing cancer immunotherapy

Intervention: The participants received either dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer vaccine therapy or CD3-activated T-lymphocyte (CAT) therapy as immunotherapy. They received the immunotherapy only for the first 4 weeks of the study, and then oral LEM (1800 mg/d) was added for the next 4 weeks.

Outcome Measures:

• Quality of life (QOL) survey
• Immunological parameters (amount of interferon-γ [IFN-γ] produced in the peripheral blood)

Summary: The study investigated the effects of oral LEM on QOL and immunological function in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy. The results showed that participants’ QOL symptom scores worsened during the first 4 weeks of immunotherapy alone but improved when LEM was added to the treatment. The measurement of immunological parameters showed that the amount of IFN-γ produced in the peripheral blood tended to increase when immunotherapy was combined with LEM. The rise in IFN-γ was correlated with changes in several regulatory T cells (Tregs). The findings suggest that a combined treatment of LEM and immunotherapy might improve QOL and immunological function in cancer patients.