UPDATE - Issue 09 - October 2001
New Options for Metastasised Prostate Cancer Sufferers
Candidates sought for Informal Trial of Japanese botanical supplements
To be told that one has Prostate Cancer is bad enough; to be told that it has spread beyond the confines of the prostate gland (or metastasised) is bad news indeed. Current standard UK treatments involve the use of cocktails of synthetic hormones, possibly supplemented by radiation therapy. Regrettably, however, in most instances, the cancer will eventually mutate around the inhibitory properties of the synthetic hormones and their effectiveness declines. The sufferer becomes hormone refractory.
Fortunately, there are two treatments available, respectively, from Chinese and Japanese medical practice, that appear to offer metastasised and hormone refractory sufferers some further hope. One of these PC-SPES based on several Chinese herbs we have reported upon in an earlier edition of Update. We can now report on "GCP" with "AHCC" which derive from Japanese medicine's traditional use of medicinal mushrooms.
GCP stands for Genistein Concentrated Polysaccharide; AHCC for Active Hexose Correlated Compound. They are botanically based compounds manufactured by the Amino Up Company of Sapporo, Japan. In Japan they have been used in combination to treat prostate and other solid tumour cancers, including breast, liver and pancreatic, with reported significant success, over the past two years.
AHCC is a highly effective immune system booster, in use for over 10 years principally in Japan, Korea and China. Development of AHCC began in the late 1980s under a collaborative research program involving the Japanese universities of Tokyo and Hokkaido. It is an extract obtained from a hybridisation of several species of edible mushroom mycelia. Today, it is claimed to be in routine use by over 700 Japanese hospitals as part of an ongoing immune enhancement programme.
GCP development is more recent, having commenced in 1998. It is produced by a special soya bean fermentation technique involving isoflavine extracts and medicinal mushrooms. It is claimed to be a natural anti-tumour substance, its principal mode of action being "antiangiogenisis" - prevention of the formation of new blood capillaries in tumours - combined with apoptosis - the induction of tumour cell death. Various studies and trials, some still ongoing, have been carried out over the past three years into the effects of GCP, on its own and in combination with AHCC, at several far eastern, two US and one New Zealand medical establishments. At present there have been no trials in the UK. As for the costs, they are high - some $700 per month.
The Amino Up Company is interested to see both an informal and a formal trial (involving a medical centre) take place in the UK. The latter will take longer to get under way. However, they are proposing to support a three month informal trial in the near future for which, of course, they will provide their products at no charge. The informal trial will involve reporting monthly PSA readings and answering a short, straightforward questionnaire. Such a trial may be of particular interest to metastasised and, particularly, hormone refractory prostate cancer sufferers and their medical advisors. If you are interested in participating in the informal trial, please write to Charles Watkins at the Prostate Research Campaign UK enclosing a SAE.
More information on CGP and AHCC is available from the Japanese Amino Up web site at: www.aminoup.co.jp/e/, and at the following US sites: www.gcpresearch.com and www.ahccresearch.com.
Please note that the Prostate Research Campaign UK is not endorsing these products. It currently has no formal advice to give either encouraging or discouraging patients who use them.