A phase I/II trial of Beta-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan in the treatment of patients with advanced malignancies receiving chemotherapy
Date
2008-9-19
Authors
Weitberg, Alan B.
Version
OA Version
Citation
Weitberg, Alan B. "A phase I/II trial of beta-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan in the treatment of patients with advanced malignancies receiving chemotherapy" Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research: CR27(1):40. (2008)
Abstract
β-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan, a component of the fungal cell wall, has been shown to stimulate the immune system, enhance hematopoiesis, amplify killing of opsonized tumor cells and increase neutrophil chemotaxis and adhesion. In view of these attributes, the β-glucans should be studied for both their therapeutic efficacy in patients with cancer as well as an adjunctive therapy in patients receiving chemotherapy as a maneuver to limit suppression of hematopoiesis. In this study, twenty patients with advanced malignancies receiving chemotherapy were given a β-(1,3)/(1,6) D-glucan preparation (MacroForce plus IP6, ImmuDyne, Inc.) and monitored for tolerability and effect on hematopoiesis. Our results lead us to conclude that β-glucan is well-tolerated in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, may have a beneficial effect on hematopoiesis in these patients and should be studied further, especially in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphoma.
Description
License
Copyright 2008 Weitberg; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.