Mushroom powder shows potential in prostate cancer

(HealthDay)—For patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer, treatment with white button mushroom (WBM) powder may reduce prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, according to a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of Cancer.

Przemyslaw Twardowski, M.D., from the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif., and colleagues examined the effects of WBM powder on serum PSA levels in a study involving 36 patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer with continuously rising PSA levels. Dose escalation was conducted in cohorts of six.

The researchers observed no cases of dose-limiting toxicity. The overall response rate of PSA was 11 percent. Complete response was observed in two patients receiving 8 and 14 g/day, with declines in their PSA to undetectable levels that persisted for 49 and 30 months. Partial response was observed in two patients who received 8 and 12 g/day. Thirty-six percent of patients experienced some PSA decrease below baseline after three months of therapy. Compared with nonresponders, patients with complete and partial response had higher levels of baseline interleukin-15; therapy-associated decreases were seen in myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

"Therapy with WBM appears to both impact PSA levels and modulate the biology of biochemically recurrent prostate cancer by decreasing immunosuppressive factors," the authors write.

The study was funded by the Mushroom Growers of Australia and North America.

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