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CAM
& Life Style
> S - Z
Last Update: 03/08/2008
Please do not consider the abstracts on supplements
within
to be proof of benefit. See Evaluating
Medical Claims & Data for details.
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Selenium | St. John's Wort
| Silymarin | Turmeric |
UV blood irradiation (UBI)?
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | Vitamin D | Vitamin E |
Vitexicarpin | Whey
Protein | Yoga | Zinc
To avoid potential adverse
interactions, be sure to let your health care provider know
if you use any type of complementary therapy.
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Selenium
About selenium - Linus Pauling Institute - lpi.oregonstate.edu
Natural sources:
brazil nuts, fish, shellfish, red meat, grains, eggs, chicken and garlic
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"Selenium
is an essential trace mineral in the human body . This nutrient is an
important part of antioxidant enzymes that protect cells against the
effects of free radicals that are produced during normal oxygen
metabolism. The body has developed defenses such as antioxidants to
control levels of free radicals because they can damage cells and
contribute to the development of some chronic diseases. Selenium is also
essential for normal functioning of the immune system and thyroid gland."
- NIH
 TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
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About selenium - Linus Pauling Institute - lpi.oregonstate.edu
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Serum Selenium in Lymphoma ~ Correspondence - jco.org
"These data do not lend support to the
hypothesis that a low selenium status enhances the risk
of developing AML, but indicate that serum selenium
levels in patients with AML are mostly dependent on tumor
activity."
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Selenium May Raise Skin Cancer Risk -
Reuters.com
Oct_03
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Presentation serum
selenium predicts for overall survival, dose delivery, and first
treatment response in aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. J Clin Oncol.
2003 Jun 15;21(12):2335-41.
PMID: 12805335 - PubMed
| Related
abstracts
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Selenomethionine
regulation of p53 by a ref1-dependent redox mechanism.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Oct 29;99(22):14548-53. PMID: 12357032
- PubMed
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Selenomethionine in the inhibition of a transplantable murine
lymphoma: reflection on hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes. Tumour
Biol. 1996;17(2):102-9. PMID: 8658012 - PubMed
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Serum selenium concentrations in patients with newly diagnosed
lymphoid malignancies. Haematologica. 1995 Nov-Dec;80(6):505-11. PMID: 8647514 - PubMed
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Protein kinase C as a molecular target for cancer prevention by
selenocompounds. Nutr Cancer. 2001;40(1):55-63. PMID: 11799924 - PubMed
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St. John's Wort
Questions and related abstracts
Review
-Healthwwweb
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St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is commonly used to treat
depression. The active
ingredient of this herb is Hypericin.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed |
Chemotherapy
and
CAUTION: Significant drug interactions
have been identified for this herb, including interactions with
chemotherapy agents, such as Etoposide.
Questions:
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Does St John's Wort have clinically useful
anti-lymphoma properties? |
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What is its potential as a photodynamic therapy
agent? |
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Can St. John's Wort inhibit activity of chemotherapy
drugs? |
Related Abstracts:
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Silymarin
(Milk Thistle)
Questions and related abstracts
Review
The Longwood Herbal Task Force (PDF)
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Silymarin
(Silybum marianum) or Milk Thistle is an herb that has
demonstrated protective effects on the liver and kidneys.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed |
Chemotherapy
and
Questions:
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Can Silymarin enhance the efficacy of agents used to
treat lymphoma? |
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Can Silymarin protect liver and kidney function in
pts receiving chemotherapy without interfering with efficacy? |
Related Abstracts:
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Scambia G, De Vincenzo R, Ranelletti FO, et al. Antiproliferative
effect of silybin on gynaecological malignancies: Synergism with
cisplatin and doxorubicin. Eur J Cancer 1996;32A:877–82.
abstract
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Invernizzi R, Bernuzzi S, Ciani D, Ascari E. Silymarine during
maintenance therapy of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Haemotologia
1993;78:340–1.
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Gaedeke J, Fels LM, Bokemeyer C, Mengs U, et al. Cisplatin
nephrotoxicity and protection by silibinin. Nephrol Dial Transplant
1996;11:55–62. abstract
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Turmeric
(curcumin)
Questions and related abstracts
Natural sources: turmeric is a common spice
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Turmeric
"is a widely used tropical herb in the ginger
family. Its stalk is used both in food and medicine, yielding the familiar
yellow ingredient that colors." 1
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
| Bioavailablity
CAUTION: Significant inhibition of chemotherapy agents may apply.
See Curcumin & Chemotherapy Alert
Bioavailability? "Clinical trials in humans indicate that the systemic bioavailability of orally administered curcumin is relatively low.
... Curcumin metabolites may not have the same biological activity as the parent compound.
In one study, conjugated or reduced metabolites of curcumin were less effective inhibitors of inflammatory enzyme expression in cultured human colon cells than curcumin itself (4) . In a clinical trial conducted in Taiwan, serum curcumin concentrations peaked 1-2 hours after an oral dose, and peak serum concentrations were 0.5, 0.6 and 1.8 micromoles/liter at doses of 4, 6 and 8 g/day, respectively (5). Curcumin could not be detected in serum at lower doses than 4 g/day. More recently, a clinical trial conducted in the UK, found that plasma curcumin, curcumin sulfate and curcumin glucuronide concentrations were in the range of 10 nanomoles/liter (0.01 micromole/liter) one hour after a 3.6 g dose of oral curcumin (6).
Curcumin and its metabolites could not be detected in plasma at lower doses than 3.6 g/day. Curcumin and its glucuronidated and sulfated metabolites were also measured in urine at a dose of 3.6 g/day. There is some evidence that orally administered curcumin accumulates in gastrointestinal tissues. When colorectal cancer patients took 3.6 g/d of curcumin orally for 7 days prior to surgery, curcumin was detected in malignant and normal colorectal tissue (7).
In contrast, curcumin was not detected in the liver tissue of patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer after the same dose of oral curcumin (8), suggesting that oral curcumin administration may not effectively deliver curcumin to tissues outside the gastrointestinal tract."
- Linus
Pauling Institute
Questions:
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Does supplementation with curcumin have clinically
useful effects? |
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What serum levels are required to have clinical
effects? |
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Does curcumin inhibit the efficacy of chemotherapy? |
| What is the bioavailablity of curcumin when taken
orally?
Does it reach blood levels in concentrations needed to make a difference?
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Curcumin - Part I: scienceblogs.com/
Why Petri dish studies don't always translate into
benefit for patients -
"To understand the translation of cell culture
studies to the whole person, we must first consider all of the
systems operating in the human body that are not present when
human cells are grown in plastic Petri dishes. ....
drug absorption, distribution, metabolism,
and excretion"
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Curcumin - part II: - scienceblogs.com
It is rare for a herbal or dietary supplement company to
conduct, much less publish, the results of the bioavailability of
their products. For dietary supplements, these studies are not
required by the US Food and Drug Administration or by any federal
regulatory authority in the world. By "bioavailability,"
we mean a study as to what fraction of a given oral dose actually
makes it into the bloodstream. While measuring bioavailability,
scientists also conduct more sophisticated calculations to
determine the peak blood concentrations, when they occur, and how
quickly the body clears the substance.
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Related Resources & Abstracts:
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MSKCC - about curcumin - mskcc.org
On bioavailablity: Detection of curcumin and its
metabolites in hepatic tissue and portal blood of patients following
oral administration. Br J Cancer. 2004 Mar 8;90(5):1011-5. PMID:
14997198
Curcumin Content of Turmeric and Curry Powders - http://www.leaonline.com/
Nutrition and Cancer 2006, Vol. 55, No. 2, Pages 126-131
Curcumin, a detailed report - Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration -
inchem.org
Bioavailablity? "Curcumin's lack of activity may be that it
is very poorly absorbed by the digestive tract, according to animal
studies" - aegis.com
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UV blood irradiation (UBI)?
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UV blood irradiation (UBI)? scienceblogs.com
"The claim is that this treatment somehow "boosts the immune
system." This is a claim that is utterly without basis in science.
Just thinking about it should suggest to you why it would be unlikely to
"boost immune function." UV light is a DNA-crosslinker, making
it a mutagen.
Normally it doesn't have access to your blood, because your
skin stops it. All that's being accomplished by UV-irradiating blood is to
induce DNA crosslinking in the lymphocytes and monocytes in the blood, as
well as potentially degrading some of the proteins in the cells and
plasma. Depending on how much UV radiation is used, that could be harmful
or indifferent, but it's unlikely to be beneficial."
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About Vitamin
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Vitamins - umm.edu/
An in-depth report on the dietary importance of vitamins and other
nutrient
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Vitamin A
Questions and related abstracts
Background:
Natural sources:
liver, dairy foods, beta-carotene-containing vegetables
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"Retinoids are derivatives of vitamin A. Their possible use in the prophylaxis and treatment of cancer is being actively explored." -
CancerWeb
The body converts carotinoids into Vitamin A. This may be the safest way
to obtain this vitamin.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
CAUTION: High doses of Vitamin A can be
toxic. See Alerts
Questions:
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Can supplementing with Vitamin A help or harm
patients fighting lymphomas? |
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Can vitamin A be toxic? |
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Are retinoids potentially useful adjuvants to
immunotherapies? |
Related Abstracts:
| Vitamin A / Retinol - BC
Cancer Agency
"In sum, there is little evidence to support the idea that,
within the wide range of doses bordered by deficiency and toxicity,
modulating preformed vitamin A intake will have any substantial
cancer-preventive effect." (International Agency for Research on
Cancer) There is insufficient evidence that vitamin A is effective in
treating or preventing cancer. High doses of vitamin A may be toxic.
(See Toxicity/Risks section below)
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| Regulation
of apoptosis induced by the retinoid N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide
and effect of deregulated bcl-2. Blood. 1995 Jan 15;85(2):359-67.
PMID: 7811993
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Vitamin C
Questions and related abstracts
Background:
Natural sources: a variety of fruits and vegetables
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Vitamin
C: There is
considerable controversy about supplementing with large doses of Vitamin C
(ascorbic acid). As with all vitamins, vitamin C essential for
good health, but advantages of high doses has not been demonstrated and
could be counterproductive.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
Questions:
| Can high serum copper levels --known
to increase with the progression of NHL -- make it unsafe to
supplement with vitamin C, especially when exposed to radiation? |
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Can Vitamin C inhibit or enhance activity of
chemotherapy drugs? |
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Does supplementation with large doses of Vitamin C
have clinically useful effects? |
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Can supplementing with large doses of Vitamin C
stimulate progression of lymphoma? |
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Is Vitamin C a potentially useful adjuvant to
immunotherapies as specific doses? |
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Can Vitamin C complement or impair some
standard treatments? |
Related Abstracts:
| Vitamin C for Cancer? By Seed prodded, or there's less to these studies than meets the eye
- scienceblogs.com
Category: Alternative medicine • Cancer • Clinical trials Posted on: April 11, 2006 8:46 AM
OK, I've been prodded enough! Yes, I've been aware of the study purporting to present good anecdotal case reports showing that there might be something to the hypothesis that megadoses of vitamin C can cure cancer where other therapies fail."
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| Pilot CAM study: Jefferson
scientists studying the effects of high-dose vitamin C on non-Hodgkin
lymphoma patients http://www.eurekalert.org
“This is a very unique study for a set of patients who have
really run out of options,” said Daniel Monti, M.D., director of the
Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine, and primary investigator
of the study. “Vitamin C administered intravenously has shown great
promise in the laboratory and there has been some anecdotal data in
cancer patients, but no one has really ever run a detailed study on
humans. Vitamin C doesn’t cost much and is very low in toxicity,
making it a particularly desirable agent for further study.”
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| Re-Assessment Urged for Intravenous Vitamin C and Cancer - Medpage
2006
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| Unconventional Therapies - Vitamin C / Ascorbic Acid - bccancer.bc.ca
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| Roles of vitamin C in radiation-induced DNA damage in presence
and absence of copper. Chem Biol Interact. 2001 Jul 31;137(1):75-88.
PMID: 11518565 - PubMed
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Vitamin
D
Questions and related abstracts
Background:
Natural sources: Cod liver oil, vitamin D–fortified
foods. Traces in egg yolks, butter. Majority created in body with sunlight
exposure to skin. Colecalciferol (vitamin D3) is the animal form.
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Vitamin
D-3: Apoptotic (inducing programmed cell death) properties
specific to lymphoma cell lines for this vitamin have been reported in
published scientific papers.
"Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that is obtained through the diet
or produced by the action of sunlight on vitamin D precursors in the skin.
Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, is derived from successive
hydroxylation of the precursor cholecalciferol, first in the liver
(25-hydroxylation), then in the kidneys (1-hydroxylation). Adequate
vitamin D is necessary for bone formation. However, the principal target
for vitamin D is the gut, where it increases the absorption of calcium and
phosphate. Thus, in vitamin D-mediated hypercalcemia, serum phosphate
levels tend to be high." 5
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
CAUTIONS: Can interfere with immune therapies. See Alerts
High doses can be toxic. May lead to hypercalcemia 5
- "associated with granuloma-forming diseases, most
notably sarcoidosis, as well as with some human lymphomas."
Both vitamin D and lymphomas are
associated with hypercalcemia - a metabolic imbalance resulting
from too much calcium in the blood. Hypercalcemia can also be a
side effect of chemotherapy.
I think the take home message from the
information below is that patients should be cautious about
supplementing with vitamin D and getting too much sun exposure.
Certainly the existence of "vitamin D
metabolite-mediated hypercalcemias" 4 in lymphomas
calls into question the idea of self-treating lymphomas with vitamin
D supplements.
Some lymphomas result in changes in the metabolism of vitamin D that can lead to problems with taking these supplements. Some lymphoma patients may metabolize vitamin D differently than healthy people and supplementation may result in hypercalcemia. Therefore, any vitamin D supplementation should be discussed with your doctor. We have seen the following types of cautions in a variety of articles on the topic:
"Some patients with sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, or lymphoma become hypercalcemic in response to any increase in vitamin D nutrition (122, 134, 135). For these persons, it may be prudent to avoid any dietary or environmental sources of vitamin D." (from
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/69/5/842
)
The following alert is included in the package alert for Fosomax plus D:
"In addition, patients should talk to their doctor if they have conditions which may cause an overproduction of vitamin D (e.g., sarcoidosis, leukemia, lymphoma).
Patients should tell their doctor about all medicines they are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements."
Related articles:
Questions:
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Does supplementation with Vitamin D-3 have clinically
useful effects? |
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What serum levels are required to have clinical
effects? |
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What is the bioavailablity of Vitamin D-3 when taken
orally? |
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Can vitamin D lead to
hypercalcemia? |
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Can Vitamin D inhibit activity of immunotherapies? |
Related Articles and Abstracts:
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Vitamin D metabolite-mediated hypercalcemia.
Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 1989 Sep;18(3):765-78. Review. PMID:
2673772
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Vitamin E
Questions and related abstracts
Background:
Natural sources: Wheat germ oil, nuts,
seeds, vegetable oils, whole grains, egg yolks, leafy green vegetables
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Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects cell membranes and other
fat-soluble parts of the body.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
CAUTION: Excessive
amounts can cause bleeding in some people.
Questions:
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Does supplementation with Vitamin E have clinically
useful effects? |
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Can vitamin E protect from treatment side effects
without compromising efficacy? |
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What serum levels are required to have clinical
effects? |
Related Abstracts:
| Neuroprotective effect of vitamin e supplementation in patients
treated with Cisplatin chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol. 2003 Mar
1;21(5):927-31. PMID: 12610195 - PubMed
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Also see
Medscape free login req.
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| Pletsityi
KD, et al. *[See
Related Articles] [Effect of vitamin E on T and B lymphocyte numbers in the
peripheral blood and various indicators of nonspecific immunity]. Vopr
Pitan. 1984
Jul-Aug;(4):42-4. Russian. PMID: 6333106; UI: 85018335.
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| Dasgupta
J, et al. *[See
Related Articles] Vitamin E-its status and role in leukemia and lymphoma.
Neoplasma. 1993;40(4):235-40. PMID: 8272150; UI: 94097440.
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Whey protein
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Whey protein may complement chemotherapy and lessen side
effects.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
CAUTION: It is not known if some of
the amino acids found in high levels in Whey protein stimulate the
growth of lymphoma cells during watch & wait status, or if it
might inhibit apoptosis in malignant lymphocytes as it does in normal
lymphocytes.
| Immunocal - U.S Physician's Desk Reference Listing - immunohelp.com
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Whey protein concentrate (WPC) and glutathione modulation in
cancer treatment.
Anticancer Res. 2000 Nov-Dec;20(6C):4785-92. Review.
PMID: 11205219 - PubMed
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Enhancing effect of patented whey protein isolate (Immunocal)
on cytotoxicity of an anticancer drug. Nutr Cancer.
2000;38(2):200-8. abstract
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Yoga
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"Yoga
is an ancient Eastern tradition that usually includes regulated breathing,
moving through various postures and meditation." 1
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
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Study: Short course of Tibetan yoga improved sleep [significantly] in cancer patients -
eurekalert.org
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Zinc
Questions and related abstracts
Background:
Natural sources: meats, oysters, and whole
grains.
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Zinc:
Studies
indicate that as lymphoma progresses, the ratio of copper to zinc rise.
[3] Normalizing
Zinc levels may protect
against infection.
TOPIC
SEARCH: PubMed
CAUTION: Blood tests may be required if using high doses of
Zinc.
Please consult with your doctor. High serum levels of Zinc can impair
immune function; and some
studies indicate that high serum levels of Zinc can inhibit apoptosis [1],
(programmed cell death), which is the goal of many treatments for
lymphoma.
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The influence
of zinc on apoptosis.
Ann Clin Lab Sci. 1995 Mar-Apr;25(2):134-42. Review. PMID: 7785963 - PubMed
Sahin
G, Ertem U, Duru F, Birgen D, Yuksek N. *[See
Related Articles] High prevalence of chronic magnesium deficiency in t cell
lymphoblastic leukemia and chronic zinc deficiency in children with acute lymphoblastic
leukemia and malignant lymphoma. Leuk Lymphoma. 2000 Nov;39(5-6):555-62.
PMID: 11342338
Rosas
R, Poo JL, Montemayor A, Isoard F, Majluf A, Labardini J. * Related
Articles Utility of the copper/zinc ratio in patients with lymphoma or acute or
chronic leukemias]. Rev Invest Clin. 1995 Nov-Dec;47(6):447-52. Spanish.
PMID: 8850142
Zinc and
immune function.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2002 Aug;56 Suppl 3:S20-3. Review. PMID: 12142956 - PubMed
Zinc enhances
the expression of interleukin-2 and interleukin-2 receptors in HUT-78
cells by way of NF-kappaB activation. J Lab Clin Med. 2002
Oct;140(4):272-89. PMID: 12389026 - PubMed
Copper Deficiency Anemia [including from zinc
supplementation] Is Not Uncommon in a Hematology Practice. - ASH
2005
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