Tag Archives: gastric cancer

The Preliminary Appraisal of Polysaccharide Peptide (PSP) in Malignant and Non-malignant Diseases

Z.Y. Sun et al
Shanghai Medical University

Abstract
28 late cases of malignancy of all pathologically proven were evaluated. Among them are one case of melanoma, two cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), twenty cases of gastro-intestinal cancers, three cases of bronchogenic carcinoma, one case each of primary hepatocellular carcinoma and multiple peritoneal malignancies of unknown origin respectively.

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Chinese Herb List – Coriolus versicolor (Yunzhi)

Cloud mushroom contains several saccharides including polysaccharide peptide (PSP) and polysaccharide-K (PSK, krestin). The protein bound polysaccharides have been found to be immune-modulating and anti-tumor, and their polypeptide moieties are rich in aspartic acid and glutamic acid. By gas chromatography and HPLC, PSP has proved that in addition to glucose, it also contains five other monosaccharides – mannose, xylose, galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. The polysaccharide peptides can be found in the mycelium, while the fruiting body mainly contains polysaccharides

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Usefulness of immunomodulators for maturation of dendritic cells.

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Int J Oncol. 2004 Aug;25(2):453-9.

Ogihara T, Iinuma H, Okinaga K.

Department of Surgery, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 173-0003, Japan.

Abstract

Biological response modifiers (BRMs) augment the cytotoxic activity of various effector cells by the induction of multiple

cytokines and suppression of immunosuppressive factors. BRMs are used extensively in adjuvant therapy for gastric

cancer in Japan. In dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine therapy, the quality of DCs is important in inducing strong antitumor

immunity. A good manufacturing practice (GMP) grade agent for DCs maturation is desirable for safety. Here we report

the effects of two BRMs, OK432 and PSK, which are GMP grade agents for the functional maturation of DCs. OK432 and

PSK were examined in vitro, and compared with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and a cytokine cocktail (IL-1beta, TNF-alpha,

IL-6 and PGE2). In the immunophenotypical analysis, the expression of CD80 and CD83 of DCs stimulated with OK-432

increased significantly compared with PSK and medium, and this up-regulation was the same as levels of DCs stimulated

with cytokine cocktail. DCs stimulated with OK-432 showed significantly higher production of IL-12 and Th1-type cytokines

(IL-2 and IFN-gamma) compared with DCs stimulated with LPS or cytokine cocktail. OK-432 stimulated DCs could induce

the significantly high level of cytotoxic T cell activity compared with PSK-stimulated or unstimulated DCs. These results

suggest that OK432 is a GMP-grade reagent that promotes functional maturation of DCs and could be applied in

DC-based vaccinations.

PMID: 15254744 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

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A protein-bound polysaccharide immunomodulator, PSK, does not suppress the conversion from 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil to 5-fluorouracil in patients with gastric cancer.

Anai H, Sakaguchi Y, Emi Y, Kohnoe S, Maehara Y, Sugimachi K.

Cancer Center, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.

Abstract

Effects of the immunomodulator PSK on the metabolism of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil (tegafur) to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were examined in 10 patients with advanced gastric cancer and who had undergone curative resection. PSK is a protein-bound preparation, extracted from Coriolus versicolor and belongs to Basidiomycetes. The 5-FU concentration in the plasma was 0.024 micrograms/ml at 15 min after the intravenous injection of 400 mg of tegafur and the area under the curve of 5-FU was 0.58 micrograms.h/ml. Following administration of PSK, 3 g/day for 8-14 months, there was no change in the plasma level of 5-FU, in any patient. As the clinical dose of PSK had no apparent influence on the metabolism of tegafur to 5-FU, the combination of PSK and tegafur can be prescribed to treat patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Postoperative PSK and OK-432 immunochemotherapy for patients with gastric cancer.

Maehara Y, Inutsuka S, Takeuchi H, Baba H, Kusumoto H, Sugimachi K.

Department of Surgery II, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University Fukuoka, Japan.

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of chemotherapy given postoperatively with and without immunomodulators on the survival of patients who had undergone resection for gastric cancer. We conducted a retrospective survey of data on 963 Japanese patients treated at our department of surgery between 1965 and 1987. Data related to the duration of postoperative survival were calculated for those who received chemotherapy, i.e. an individualized combination of various agents given with or without the immunomodulators PSK, a protein extract of the fungus Coriolus versicolor, and/or OK-432, a preparation of an attenuated strain of Streptococcus (immunochemotherapy). Postoperative immunochemotherapy was more often prescribed for patients with advanced disease. The survival of patients who received immunochemotherapy was shorter than that of patients who received only chemotherapy. In a subgroup of patients adjusted for disease stage, the survival of those on chemotherapy versus immunochemotherapy did not differ significantly at any stage. For optimal results, a protocol for postoperative immunochemotherapy needs to be designed and investigated prospectively and according to the stage of gastric cancer. The stage III gastric cancers seem amenable to a favorable response.

PMID: 8261578 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8261578