An article in the Journal of Medical Case Reports recently reported a case of pleural mesothelioma in a 73-year-old man in which the complete disappearance of the tumor was achieved through both traditional and alternative therapies.
Authors of the article report that “a pleurectomy was performed, and as expected, the tumor locally relapsed with increasing chest pain. However, the symptoms suddenly improved while the tumor was apparently reduced, and spontaneous tumor regression was initially considered. The patient confessed that he had self-administered a mushroom extract with alternative parasympathetic nerve stimulation therapy [a type of acupuncture] thereafter.” Throughout a 29-month follow-up, the complete disappearance of the tumor was clinically attained with continuing self-treatment by the patient.
Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. Patients typically survive four to 18 months after diagnosis. Improved survival rates are sometimes seen in some patients who undergo trimodality therapy combining surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Not all patients can undergo all three traditional treatments, and instead opt for just chemotherapy or radiation or a combination of the two.
Sometimes, mesothelioma treatment can be complimented by alternative therapies such as the mushroom extract used by the patient in this case report. Following a pleurectomy, postoperative intrathoracic chemotherapy with Carboplatin and systemic chemotherapy with Gemcitabine, the patient orally self-administered a mushroom extract and received acupuncture in another hospital.
The mushroom extract contained the edible mushroom known as Agaricus blazei Murill Kyowa (ABMK), which is native to Brazil and cultivated in Japan for medicinal use. The mushroom has been used to treat arteriosclerosis, hepatitis, diabetes, dermatitis and cancer. According to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Web site, studies on ABMK have revealed its immunomodulatory (helps to regulate the immune system), antitumor and antimutagenic properties. Sloan-Kettering also reports that “a recent randomized study showed that oral administration of Agaricus extract improved the natural killer cell activity and quality of life in gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.”
The acupuncture the patient underwent is an alternative parasympathetic nerve stimulation therapy that is reported to have possible immune-modulation (the potential to either stimulate or suppress the immune system). The patient experienced two weeks of high fever and then his general condition distinctly improved. Four months after the alternative therapies, the relapsed tumor had significantly decreased and eventually completely disappeared.
Although another completely separate local tumor appeared many months after the initial tumor disappeared, the patient was alive and continuing the previously beneficial alternative therapies of ABMK extract and acupuncture.
Additional information on mesothelioma and other survivor stories may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
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