Mushroom Extract May Eliminate HPV in Women

BEAVERTON, Ore.—The Japanese mushroom extract AHCC (active hexose correlated compound) can eliminate HPV infection in women when taken orally as a nutritional supplement. (Society of Integrative Oncology. 2014, Oct. 28. Online.)

The study, presented by Judith Smith, Pharm.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, was selected for special research platform presentation as “Best of SIO."

“HPV is associated with 99 percent of cervical cancers, as well as many other life threatening cancers," Smith said. “Patients who learn that they have HPV, and their doctors, are understandably frustrated because all we can do is monitor them for the abnormal changes associated with cancer. What we need is a safe, effective treatment for HPV before the cancer occurs." 

In the study, ten women who tested HPV-positive with the Cervista HPV HR Test were treated orally with AHCC once daily for up to six months. Five achieved a negative HPV test result – three with confirmed eradication after stopping AHCC – and the remaining two responders continued on with the study.

Further investigation in a formal phase II randomized placebo controlled study is now being enrolled at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School. 

“With this study, for the first time, we’ve shown it’s possible to eradicate HPV in women using AHCC for only three months or up to six months," Smith said. The research has a specific focus on the safe and effective use of nutritional and herbal supplements with pharmacologic modalities as it relates to women’s health and cancer. 

AHCC works as an immunotherapy that uses a body’s own immune system to help fight disease. Human and in-vivo studies have shown that AHCC increases the number and/or activity of natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells and cytokines, which enable the body to effectively respond to infections and block the proliferation of tumors. 

Smith’s research findings were chosen for presentation in the “Best of SIO" session on October 28, 2014, from a record number of abstracts submitted for the 11^th International Conference in Houston, Texas. The Society for Integrative Oncology is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to integrative medicine specific to cancer patients.

HPV (human papilloma virus) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. Up to 70-percent of sexually active adults will acquire HPV at some point in their lives. Human papillomavirus DNA has been detected in 99.7 percent of cervical cancer biopsies, yielding the largest causative relationship of any cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, several other cancers are related to HPV, including 95 percent of anal cancer, 60 percent of oropharyngeal cancer, 65 percent of vaginal cancer, 50 percent of vulvar cancer and 35 percent of penile cancer.

Earlier this year, a preclinical study found that AHCC led to the eradication of HPV and decreased the rate of tumor growth in-vitro and in-vivo.