Effective immune function is important for both fighting cancer and preventing cancer in patients at high risk. Natural therapies that enhance immune function include medicinal mushrooms, astragalus, probiotics, vitamin D, intravenous vitamin C, and mistletoe therapy.
Cancer is thought to affect approximately two in five Canadians at some point during their lifetime. While cancer can be an intimidating diagnosis, it’s important to be aware of supporting natural strategies at our disposal to help fight this diagnosis. One of the key avenues is strengthening immune function so the body can target cancer cells more effectively.
Effective immune function is essential in both fighting cancer among patients who actively have cancer and preventing cancer in patients at high risk. It is the role of specialized immune cells such as lymphocytes, T-helper cells, and natural killer (NK) cells to perform ongoing immune surveillance.
In other words, these cells “seek out and destroy” cancer cells as they arise in the body. Cancer, being an ever-adapting disease, survives in part by suppressing this ability. Inhibitory immune cells such as regulatory T-cells (Tregs) may infiltrate the tumour and suppress the ability of other effector immune cells to kill cancer cells. In addition, one of the most common and problematic side effects of chemotherapy also involves immune suppression.
On the other hand, among patients with cancer, it has been shown that those with relatively higher counts of lymphocytes fare better in terms of cancer treatment outcomes and survival.
Clearly, the immune system is the key to optimizing cancer treatments, and conventional medicine recognizes this as well, as may be seen in the development of new immunotherapeutic drugs that target various aspects of the immune system.
Naturopathic cancer care uses several types of therapies that enhance immune function to help in treating and/or preventing cancer.
Medicinal mushrooms
Coriolus versicolor (turkey tail) and Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom) have been shown to help offset the immune-suppressing effects of chemotherapy and improve survival among patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer.
It is important that a good quality mushroom extract is used, and it should be hot-water extracted. This process liberates the polysaccharides that are responsible for mushrooms’ therapeutic effects and is the form used traditionally in Asia as well as in clinical trials.
Astragalus membranaceus
This herb is used extensively in Chinese medicine as well as Western herbalism that has been shown to boost immune function. In patients with non-small cell lung cancer, astragalus helped lower the toxic effect of radiation therapy on white blood cell counts and improved survival.
Probiotics
Probiotics are important gut-based immune modulators. In one study of patients with colorectal cancer, supplementation with probiotics beginning one day before surgery and continuing for 15 days afterward resulted in an overall decrease in all major post-operative complications, including infection, compared to placebo. Patients receiving probiotics had shorter hospital stays and lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.
Probiotics may also help improve the eradication rates of infectious agents associated with cancer risk, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and Helicobacter pylori bacteria. HPV infection is associated with cervical dysplasia (a precursor to cervical cancer), as well as oral cancers, while H. pylori is associated with gastric cancers.
Vitamin D
An important immune-modulating nutrient in which many Canadians are deficient, vitamin D is also important in regulating healthy cell division. It is generally accepted that blood levels of the marker 25(OH)D should be equal to or above 75nmol/L. Studies have shown that being low in vitamin D elevates risk of several types of cancers, while being sufficient in vitamin D is associated with better treatment outcomes.
Injectable therapies
Finally, two more advanced, injectable therapies that stimulate immune function are intravenous vitamin C therapy and mistletoe therapy. These may be used as adjuncts to chemotherapy and/or radiation in patients with active cancer, or to prevent recurrence in patients who have completed treatment.
Vitamin C
Intravenous vitamin C has been shown to reduce side effects of chemotherapy, reduce tumour markers such as prostate specific antigen (PSA) and inflammatory cytokines, and may improve survival in patients with cancer.
Mistletoe therapy
Mistletoe therapy has been shown to reduce immune suppression associated with chemotherapy, improve quality of life, and extend survival in patients with breast and gynecological cancers.
Note: Individuals with cancer should consult a knowledgeable, licensed naturopathic doctor to determine what treatments may be most appropriate for them and to minimize risk of interactions with standard treatments.
Heidi Fritz, MA, ND, is a research fellow and practices at the Bolton Naturopathic Clinic and the Springdale Medical Centre in Brampton, Ontario.
Nancy Hillis
Michelle von Hahn
Alexa Everett
Laura Bolt