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New Therapy Shows Results Against Cancer and Viral Infections
by author Mamdooh Ghoneum, PhD

Many people have become disillusioned in the "war against cancer." I remain very optimistic, however, that we will triumph over this seemingly invincible killer. Given the disappointing results and drawbacks of toxic modern therapies, it seems clear to me that our best hope for a victory lies in those therapies that enhance the body’s innate immune response to cancer cells. This type of treatment is called immunotherapy.

Six years ago, I stumbled across a natural substance so promising, so superior to everything else I had ever evaluated, that I abandoned all other projects, including research for the National Institutes of Health, in order to focus on it entirely. The substance, MGN-3, is a polysaccharide (carbohydrate chain) composed of the fibrous part of rice bran extract that has been modified by enzymes from shiitake mushrooms. In seven published studies involving a total of 72 human subjects, the efficacy of MGN-3 equals or surpasses the very best immune-modulating drugs available but, in contrast, exhibits a complete lack of toxicity.

Antiviral Activity

Other research suggests a promising role for MGN-3 as a therapy for HIV, hepatitis C and other viral infections. MGN-3 has antiviral activity and also enhances the body’s immune response against viral-infected cells. In vitro (test tube) research shows that MGN-3 can inhibit replication of the HIV virus without damaging healthy cells. Human studies also suggest that MGN-3 may also be useful in the treatment of hepatitis C. In these patients, liver enzymes, which are typically elevated, return to healthy levels within one to eight weeks of treatment with MGN-3.

Nk Cells In Cancer Treatment

More than 150 different types of white blood cells have been identified, and of these, natural killer (NK) cells are one of the most common, representing up to 15 percent of total white blood cells. They are important because, unlike other white blood cells, they are able to work more or less independently, not requiring special instructions from the immune system in order to recognize or attack a foreign cell. For this reason, they are often considered the body’s first line of defence against cancer and viral-infected cells.

Circulating the body through the blood and lymph systems, the majority of NK cells are in a resting state. They become more active and aggressive in response to immuno-regulatory proteins called cytokines, which are chemical messengers that promote immune activity. Once activated, NK cells become quite aggressive in their search-and-destroy activities. Upon encountering a tumour cell, the activated NK cell attaches to the membrane of the cancer cell and injects toxic granules that quickly dissolve the target cell. In less than five minutes, the cancer cell is dead and the NK cell moves on to its next victim. A single NK cell can destroy up to 27 cancer cells before it dies. Although quite small compared to tumour or virus cells, a single NK cell can often bind to two or more cancer cells at once.

The absolute number of NK cells present in the blood gives little indication of the efficiency of immune function. Instead, it is the activity of the NK cells–how aggressive they are in recognizing and binding to tumour cells–that is important.

Proven Human Efficacy

Research has shown MGN-3’s effect on the activity of NK cells. Thirty-two cancer patients with different types of advanced malignancies and who had received and completed conventional therapy such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or hormonal therapy took part in the study. The baseline NK-cell activity was found to be low in all patients (10.8 to 49 percent). Oral ingestion of MGN-3 at three grams per day led to a significant increase in NK-cell activity after only one to two weeks. The increase in baseline NK-cell activity after two weeks of administration ranged from 145 to 332 percent in breast cancer patients, 174 to 385 percent in prostate cancer patients, 100 to 240 percent in leukemia patients and 100 to 537 percent in multiple myeloma patients.

Clinical Results

Mamdooh Ghoneum, PhD, is chief of research for the department of otolaryngology at Charles D. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.

Source: alive #243, January 2003