D-Fraction May Be Therapeutic to Bladder Cancer

CHICAGO—During the AUA (American Urological Association) Annual Meeting, held April 25 to 30 in Chicago, a combination therapy of Maitake D-fraction and Interferon was proposed as an alternative treatment of bladder cancer. The study was conducted and presented by a research group at New York Medical College, Department of Urology, led by Dr. Sensuke Konno.

Interferons (IFNs) have widely been used as immunotherapy for patients with bladder cancer, but the outcomes have not been satisfactory yet. To improve the efficacy of such INF monotherapy, researchers examined a combination of IFN with Maitake D-fraction. Although IFN-a2b and D-fraction are both known to suppress the growth of bladder cancer cells when used separately at a high dose, they did not show the activity at lower doses such as 10K IU/ml of IFN- alpha2b or 200mcg/ml of D-fraction respectively. However, when they were combined at those “non-effective” low doses, the growth of bladder cancer cells were suppressed by 75 percent, showing a dramatic synergy of two agents. Researchers believe that the combination therapy may activate an enzyme that controls cancer cell proliferation and induce cell cycle arrest ultimately causing the interruption of cancer growth.

Michael Shirota, president and CEO of Maitake Products Inc., who has supported a number of studies at New York Medical College for the past ten years, is pleased with the above result. “It is another example of D-fraction synergism” Shirota stated. “Previous studies have also confirmed its synergy with chemotherapies, interferons, vitamins and other nutrients from herbs and mushrooms. It is very significant because the synergy not only enhances the efficacy of the treatment but also improves the quality of life of the patients by reducing the dose of conventional therapies significantly.”