'Magic Mushroom' Prevents Prostate Cancer - New Study with Mice

This is no joke.  What would you think if researchers stumbled onto a compound that (a) cured existing prostate cancer 100% of the time, (b) prevented the development of prostate cancer, (c) produced no side effects, and (d) could be found in huge quantities in mushrooms that grew in forests all over the world?

Turkey Tail mushrooms grow on  bark

Wow is right. A cure.

Well, mice ain't people, and more study is warranted ... but this one is worth keeping an eye on. So here are some facts:

Incredible new research out of Australia last month has shown that a compound called polysaccharopeptide (PSP), which comes from a type of mushroom called "Turkey Tail," is 100 percent effective at targeting prostate cancer stem cells and suppressing tumor formation in mice. The research, which has been published in the online journal PLoS ONE, represents the first to show that a natural substance is totally and completely effective in every single trial, according to an article in NaturalNews.com (June 1, 2011).
(Interestingly, this story has been covered by natural, health news and international news organizations for a couple weeks now, but only ABC News picked it up for a little online piece.  It's not getting any significant mainstream news coverage, as yet.)

Senior research fellow Patrick Ling, from the Institute for Biomedical Health and Innovation (IHBI) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT),  and his colleagues fed PSP for 20 weeks to mice with prostate cancer. Compared to another group of prostate cancer mice not given PSP, which subsequently developed prostate tumors, the PSP group remained completely free of tumors. Dr. Ling said the research suggested that PSP treatment could completely inhibit prostate tumour formation.

"The findings are quite significant," said Dr. Ling. "What we wanted to demonstrate was whether [PSP] could stop the development of prostate tumors in the first place. In the past, other inhibitors tested in research trials have been shown to be up to 70 percent effective, but we're seeing 100 percent of this tumor prevented from developing with PSP."

Turkey Tail mushrooms are native to many northern forests around the world, and they have been highly studied for their medicinal benefits. Particularly in China and Japan, Turkey Tail mushrooms are already used as anti-cancer medicine, as well as an antimicrobial, anti-malarial, and immunomodulating natural treatment. And besides PSP, Turkey Tail mushrooms contain many other anti-cancer compounds like beta-glucan-proteins, polysaccharide K (PSK), and ergosterol derivatives, all of which provide substantial health benefits.

"Our findings support that PSP may be a potent preventative agent against prostate cancer, possibly through targeting of the prostate cancer stem cell population," added Dr. Ling.

He said PSP had been previously shown to possess anti-cancer properties, and 'turkey tail' mushrooms (known as Coriolus versicolor or Yun-zhi) had been widely used in Asia for medicinal benefits. However, Dr Ling said it was the first time it had been demonstrated that PSP had anti-cancer stem cell effects.

Although 'turkey tail' mushrooms had valuable health properties, Dr Ling said it would not be possible to get the same benefit his research showed from simply eating them.

So what about human trials?

Googling around, I found this:  In March 2011 -- before Dr. Ling's study was released -- Seattlemag.com reported that the University of Washington and Bastyl University were studying the cancer-healing power of turkey tail, as the centerpiece of a $4.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Minnesota are also participating in the study. 

For this  study, the mushroom extract will be tested in 30 women with breast cancer and 32 men with prostate cancer, recruited through the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

I would assume the UW/Bastyl group had to be pretty excited with Dr. Ling's findings.

In 2002, UW and Bastyl teamed up and in 2010 published a paper on how the turkey tail mushroom extract works against cancerous cells in the laboratory, researchers noting that it clearly stimulated immune cells. While there are some conventional drugs in use that will do the same for cancer patients, they can have side effects. “We are excited about the potential of this, to have immune-stimulating effects without toxicity,” said Dr. Hailing Lu, one of the key researchers at UW.