Potential Benefits of Ling Zhi or Reishi Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Aphyllophoromycetideae) to Breast Cancer Patients

International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2007

Potential Benefits of Ling Zhi or Reishi Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Aphyllophoromycetideae) to Breast Cancer Patients

Specialty Mushrooms, Penfield, NY, USA

We present a model case study of a stage IIIa breast cancer patient adapting to the adjuvant use of Ganoderma lucidum in conjunction with a standard regimen of breast cancer treatments (presurgery ACT chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and postsurgery chemoprevention). According to the personal account of the authors of this research, G. lucidum triterpene-enriched polysaccharide extract of a new hybrid, Reishi Gano 161, containing 12% β-D-glucan and 6% triterpenes, was beneficial to the patient in numerous ways, such as effective tumor shrinkage, minimal or transient side effects from chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and improvement of the quality of life, compared to the experience of patients who used only conventional cancer treatments. New studies unveiled the molecular mechanism of the antitumor activity of this legendary medicinal mushroom, which appeared to be based on the inhibition of the nuclear transcription factor, NF-kappaB (NF-κB). NF-κB is overexpressed in various cancer cell lines and can serve as a molecular target for the development of more precise chemoprevention and anticancer therapy.

DOI:10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v9.i1