Cancer Research Report
Share
Abstract
The prevalence of cancer has been on the rise, and with that, the search for cancer treatments. An estimated 611,720 people will die from cancer in 2024. That proves that cancer treatments are lacking. With chemotherapy being the go-to for cancer, many side effects can occur as well. Natural cancer treatments with little to no side effects are being searched out. In this review, four natural and holistic treatment options are covered. Soursop leaves have been rumored for generations to help with cancer. Turkey tail mushrooms have been said to help assist chemotherapy and have anti-cancerous properties. Hen-of-the-wood is studied with turkey tail for these same benefits. Lastly, pomegranate has some helpful compounds that could potentially be a game changer for this field. In the end, all four holistic treatments proved to be beneficial in decreasing cancer and show signs of potentially being successful cancer treatments. Overall, these four treatments will be investigated to see if they are viable options for natural cancer treatments.
Introduction
People who have been diagnosed with cancer should consider using natural methods like turkey tail, hen-of-the-wood, pomegranate, and soursop as additional treatment. Cancer has been prevalent and rising in numbers all over the country for many years. It was estimated that in 2024, 2,001,140 people would be diagnosed with cancer and that 611,720 people would die of cancer (Cancer Statistics, n.d.). The most common types of cancer today are breast, prostate, lung, and colon, which do end up in most of the studies discussed later on.
Chemotherapy is how most cancers are treated in the United States. With this treatment, adverse side effects occur. Chemo drugs can damage cells and tissues in all parts of the body. When this treatment is done, patients can expect to suffer from hair loss, fatigue, easy bruising and bleeding, infection, anemia, nausea and vomiting, appetite changes, constipation, diarrhea, weight changes, chemo brain, fertility problems, and more (Chemotherapy Side Effects, n.d.). Now that natural remedies are being studied, the goal would be to use holistic treatments either alongside or instead of chemotherapy.
With that, it is only natural that researchers are beginning to look for more ways to treat or cure this deadly disease. Some of these treatment options include herbs and plants that have been around for thousands of years. They have been used in traditional cultures for cancer treatment in the past, but modern-day medicine does not recognize them. Presently, more research is being done to prove or disprove these plants' effectiveness, which will lead to more treatment options for cancer patients.
During this report, four different plants are discussed. Soursop leaves have been used by cancer patients for many years, but now, research has been done to explain if it works. Syed Najmuddin et al. evaluated the anti-proliferative and anti-cancer effects of Annona muricata crude extract (AMCE) on breast cancer cell lines (Syed Najmuddin et al., 2016). Turkey tail has also been rumored to be an anticancer plant and is studied alongside hen-of-the-wood later on in this report. Roca-Lema et al. state that “Taken together, our results underscore a potential anti-tumor effect of polysaccharide-rich extracts obtained from TV and GF in human colon cancer cell lines. These findings may contribute to the reported health effects of fungal extracts” (2019). Lastly, pomegranate has been researched to be helpful with cancer as well. All four of these plants have been studied and proven to be viable treatment options for cancer patients. Adams et al. states, “These studies suggest that pomegranate ET–derived compounds have potential for the prevention of estrogen-responsive breast cancers” (2010). With these plants being options for people who have cancer, a better treatment can be used in the future with fewer side effects and risks. The purpose of this is to show people with cancer that other treatment options are available to help heal them naturally and can be done alongside traditional therapies.
Results
The study of in vitro anti-proliferative and anti-invasive effects of polysaccharide-rich extracts from Turkey tail Trametes versicolor and Hen-of-the-Wood Grifola frondosa in colon cancer cells proved to be useful. The Turkey tail extract did not show significant effects on cell viability after 24 hours of treatment in LoVo cells. A slight reduction was detected after 44 hours, and a significant decrease was observed after 72 hours. The substantial decline was up to 40% reduction at a lower concentration (Roca-Lema et al., n.d., para. 18). With HT-29 cells, significant effects were detected with the turkey tail extract after 24, 48, and 72 hours. When using it in higher concentrations, hen-of-the-Wood showed inhibitory effects on LoVo cell viability faster than turkey tail. A 40% reduction in cell viability was seen at a lower concentration after 72 hours of treatment with hen-of-the-wood. The most significant cytotoxicity effect occurred when using hen-of-the-wood extract in HT-29 cells. A low concentration was used, and a substantial decrease was detected after 24, 48, and 72 hours. The inhibitory effect of cytotoxicity reached up to 60%-70% reduction after 72 hours of hen-of-the-woods extract. No cytotoxicity effects of turkey tail or hen-of-the-wood were detected in non-tumorigenic epithelial MDCK cell lines (Roca-Lema et al., n.d., para. 18). The results show a more potent cytotoxicity effect with hen-of-the-wood extracts compared to turkey tail extracts in LoVo and HT-29 colon cancer cell lines (Roca-Lema et al., n.d., para. 18).
The study of the anti-cancer effects of Soursop Leaves Annona muricata crude extract on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and 4 T1 cells provided a lot of information. Najmuddin et al. show that “at the 48-hour time interval, the early apoptotic cell population increased gradually from 1.24 % ± 0.06 % in the control group to 26.9 % ± 1.18 % in IC50 of the treatment group whereas, at a 72-hour time interval, the cells increased from 2.39 % ± 0.09 % in the control group to 35.13 % ± 1.19 % in the treatment group. There was also an increase in population of late apoptotic cells from 1.89 % ± 0.03 % and 1.33 % ± 0.09 % in the control group to 10 % ± 0.08 % and 14.25 % ± 0.62 % in the B1 AMCE treatment group of the 48-h and 72-h time-point respectively. ( 2016)” This proved that daily treatment for 28 days led to the conclusion that the crude extract of soursop is a potential candidate for treating breast cancer in humans. It can also modulate its therapeutic effect continuously with no sign of resistance. It proved to effectively inhibit the growth of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.
The study on Pomegranate Ellagitannin–Derived Compounds Exhibit Antiproliferative and Antiaromatase Activity in Breast Cancer Cells In vitro Proved to be useful. “Six of the ET-derived compounds, MUB, UBS, UB, acetylated-UB, UA, and MUA, exhibited significant antiaromatase activity as measured in the microsome assay. However, this activity did not reach the level of known aromatase inhibitor drugs previously tested in our laboratory. The test compounds acetylated-MUA, GA, and EA showed no significant antiaromatase activity in this assay. It is possible that a combination of these products may produce a more potent effect, as in vivo, they would not be found circulating in isolation. (Adams et al., 2010)." The ingestion of pomegranate can lead to concentrations of circulating urolithins in the blood. The results of these studies suggest that pomegranate may be a viable strategy for chemo-prevention.
Discussion
This report is meant to educate people on the options they have with cancer. Cancer is on the rise and has been for some time. With that, people are searching for more holistic and natural remedies. The ones considered in this report are pomegranate, soursop, turkey tail, and hen-of-the-wood. These four natural treatments were evaluated earlier in the research. Studies have proven them to be useful in cancer treatment and in reducing the size of tumors in various cancers. This information helps prove that cancer can be treated naturally, even alongside chemotherapy.
Turkey tail Trametes versicolor and Hen-of-the-Wood Grifola frondosa were used in a study to treat colon cancer cells. During this study, they found that after 72 hours of using turkey tail, there was up to a 40% reduction in the cancer cells. Hen-of-the-wood had up to 60-70% reduction after 72 hours. This proves that these two mushrooms are a great option for cancer treatment.
Soursop was studied over a 72-hour period and showed signs of decreasing various cancer cells. Over a 28-day period, crude oil from this herb can be used for a successful treatment of breast cancer. It was also proven to have a continuous effect with no resistance, so that it can be used in the long term. It inhibited the growth of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.
Pomegranate was studied and shown to be a good option for chemo prevention. This was studied with breast cancer, and its effects were not too significant at the dose used. The researchers speculated that it would be more successful at a high dose or concentration. This study proves that pomegranate is a good cancer prevention and treatment option.
The go-to treatment for cancer is still chemotherapy. This treatment comes with adverse side effects that a cancer patient has to suffer through. With the groundbreaking evidence that supports natural remedies coming to light, we can expect fewer people suffering from this. These herbs can help someone while they are doing chemotherapies or could potentially replace that therapy altogether.
Overall, these three studies will help people suffering from cancer. It provides them with more options than Western medicine, and they can be used alongside these treatments. With the number of cancer patients being so high, it is vital that we search for these remedies that can help people naturally. Turkey tail, hen-of-the-wood, soursop, and pomegranate are all good options for cancer treatment.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Overall, the research done shows that there are alternative treatments that have the potential to be effective. Soursop, turkey tail, hen-of-the-wood, and pomegranate all proved to decrease the amount of cancer in their studies. The findings of this literature review suggest that these treatments are safe and valuable in helping cancer patients. With the wide range of people suffering from this disease, alternative treatments are needed. This research provides a change that could save or help many lives. Chemotherapy can be dangerous and cause adverse side effects that holistic therapies do not. People who have been diagnosed with cancer should consider using natural methods like turkey tail, hen-of-the-wood, pomegranate, and soursop as an additional treatment.
I recommend that more research be done on these treatments in humans. Most of the studies use cells or mice, and we lack evidence of this in people. These studies prove that it can work, so there needs to be human studies to demonstrate how well we can use these plants. The question left unanswered is the practicality of these working in actual cancer patients. My next step would be to start doing the human trials to show people how it can change cancer in humans.
- I am Gabby Stout, founder of Soul of the Lotus LLC. I have a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Health Sciences with an Herbalism Specialization. Please feel free to email me with any questions or shop on my website to start enjoying holistic wellness products today!
References
Adams, L. S., Zhang, Y., Seeram, N. P., Heber, D., & Chen, S. (2010). Pomegranate Ellagitannin–Derived Compounds Exhibit Antiproliferative and Antiaromatase Activity in Breast Cancer Cells In vitro. Cancer Prevention Research, 3(1), 108–113. https://doi.org/10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-08-0225
Adams, L. S., Seeram, N. P., Aggarwal, B. B., Takada, Y., Sand, D., & Heber, D. (2006).
Pomegranate juice, total pomegranate ellagitannins, and punicalagin suppress
inflammatory cell signaling in colon cancer cells. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 54(3), 980–985. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf052005r
Cancer statistics. (n.d.). Cancer.Gov. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics
Chemotherapy side effects. (n.d.). American Cancer Society. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from
Dan, A., Swain, R., Belonce, S., & Jacobs, R. J. (2023). Therapeutic Effects of Medicinal
Mushrooms on Gastric, Breast, and Colorectal Cancer: A Scoping Review. Cureus, 15(4), e37574. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.37574
Najmuddin, S. U. F. S., Romli, M. F., Hamid, M., Alitheen, N. B., & Rahman, N. M. A. N. A. (2016). Anti-cancer effect of Annona Muricata Linn Leaves Crude Extract (AMCE) on breast cancer cell line. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 16(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1290-y
Ilango, S., Sahoo, D. K., Paital, B., Kathirvel, K., Gabriel, J. I., Subramaniam, K., Jayachandran,
P., Dash, R. K., Hati, A. K., Behera, T. R., Mishra, P., & Nirmaladevi, R. (2022). A Review on Annona muricata and Its Anticancer Activity. Cancers, 14(18), 4539. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14184539
Pilkington, K., Wieland, L. S., Teng, L., Jin, X. Y., Storey, D., & Liu, J. P. (2022). Coriolus
(Trametes) versicolor mushroom to reduce adverse effects from chemotherapy or radiotherapy in people with colorectal cancer. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 11(11), CD012053. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012053.pub2
Roca-Lema, D., Martinez-Iglesias, O., Fernández de Ana Portela, C., Rodríguez-Blanco, A.,
Valladares-Ayerbes, M., Díaz-Díaz, A., Casas-Pais, A., Prego, C., & Figueroa, A. (2019).
In Vitro Anti-proliferative and Anti-invasive Effect of Polysaccharide-rich Extracts from Trametes Versicolor and Grifola Frondosa in Colon Cancer Cells. International journal of medical sciences, 16(2), 231–240. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijms.28811
Sharma, P., McClees, S. F., & Afaq, F. (2017). Pomegranate for Prevention and Treatment of
Cancer: An Update. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 22(1), 177. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22010177
Syed Najmuddin, S. U., Romli, M. F., Hamid, M., Alitheen, N. B., & Nik Abd Rahman, N. M.
(2016). Anti-cancer effect of Annona Muricata Linn Leaves Crude Extract (AMCE) on breast cancer cell line. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 16(1), 311. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1290-y
Yajid, A. I., Ab Rahman, H. S., Wong, M. P. K., & Wan Zain, W. Z. (2018). Potential Benefits of
Annona muricata in Combating Cancer: A Review. The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS, 25(1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.21315/mjms2018.25.1.2
Yang, M. M., Chen, Z., & Kwok, J. S. (1992). The anti-tumor effect of a small polypeptide from
Coriolus versicolor (SPCV). The American journal of Chinese medicine, 20(3-4), 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X92000230
