Search Here

A compound extracted from a mushroom has shown to help dogs with cancer, a report from the University of Pennsylvania reveals.  

A  study conducted by two researchers the University's prestigious veterinary school shows that when dogs with hemangiosarcoma were treated with an extract from the Coriolus versiolor mushroom, known commonly as the Yunzhi mushroom, they had the longest survival rate ever reported for dogs with the disease.

According to the report, the compound in the mushroom that is believed to have immune-boosting properties is polysaccharopeptide, or PSP.

In the last two decades, some studies have suggested that PSP also has a tumor-fighting effect, and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years.

Researchers concocted a formula using PSP, called I'm Yunity, and separating the doses into 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg/day, they then recruited 15 dogs diagnosed with the disease and, at the behest of their owners, conducted a trial experiment to see if the property really could slow the dieseas' degenerative processes.

Owners were instructed to give their dogs capsules containing the compound everyday, and then bring their dogs into the University for monthly follow-ups where blood samples were drawn and ultrasounds were given to determine the  the extent that tumors developed or grew and spread in the dogs' bodies.

While the dogs did eventually die, it took much longer than even the researchers had hypothesized.

The results were so surprising, in fact, that the researchers asked Penn Vet pathologists to recheck the dogs' tissue biopsies to make sure that the dogs really had the disease.

"We were shocked," Cimino Brown said. "Prior to this, the longest reported median survival time of dogs with hemangiosarcoma of the spleen that underwent no further treatment was 86 days. We had dogs that lived beyond a year with nothing other than this mushroom as treatment."

As expected the dogs given the highest dosage lived longer than the dogs given the lower dosages.

While chemotherapy is available for dogs diagnosed with cancer, many owners opt out due to its crippling expenses and because it does not really affect the dogs survival rate.

Added to that, chemotherapy treatments are painful, making the dogs last days no less dismal, perhaps even more so.

I'm-Yunity however is not inexpensive and, if proven effective, would offer owners a way of extending their pet's life without regular trips to the vet. Also, researchers have yet to note any adverse effects of the medicine.

The researchers are now getting ready to pursue further trials of I'm-Yunity in dogs with hemangiosarcoma to confirm and refine their results. The report reveals that one trial will compare I'm-Yunity to a placebo for those owners who opt not to pursue chemotherapy in their pet and another will compare the compound to standard-of-care chemotherapy.

These promising findings offer hope that the compound may one day offer cancer patients - human and canine alike - a viable alternative or complementary treatment to traditional chemotherapies. If all goes well, the drug's manufacturing company will begin human trials.