Immunostimulatory and Anti-inflammatory Effect of Ganoderma Lucidum on Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women. A key factor in tumour development is the evasion of immune detection, therefore; search for alternative medicines with the ability to improve the function of the immune system and targets tumours cells has received growing interest. Ganoderma lucidum (GL) has been demonstrated to possess anti-tumour and immunomodulatory activities. Little is known about the immunomodulatory effect of GL on BC patients when used with chemotherapeutic agents. We aim to investigate the level of immune biomarkers; interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumour necrotic factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and adiponectin in these patients. Material and Methods: Forty female patients with BC were included and divided equally into two groups: Group 1 received chemotherapy alone and Group 2 received chemotherapy plus GL capsules (1000 mg twice daily). Blood samples were obtained from all patients before and after 4 cycles of chemotherapy. These samples were analysed to identify the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-8, and adiponectin. Results: After the treatment period, there was the significant increase in the level of IFN-γ (P=0.0024) and a significant decrease in the mean serum levels of TNF-α (P=0.0004) and IL-8 (P=0.019) in patients treated with concurrent GL and chemotherapy. A non-significant difference was found between pre and post-treatment in the mean serum levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-8 in patients receiving chemotherapy only. The mean serum levels of adiponectin in both groups did not show any significant difference when compared to pre-treatment levels. Conclusion: The present study showed that the use of GL in-combination with chemotherapy could have immune stimulatory, anti-inflammatory and anti-metastatic activity that can enhance the therapeutic responsiveness of BC patients to chemotherapy and improve their quality of life during treatment. More research is needed to confirm these results. In addition, clinical evaluation of benefit and outcome are ongoing.