Anticancer Effect of Phellinus linteus; Potential Clinical Application in Treating Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (ductal adenocarcinoma) is one of the most lethal malignancies in gastrointestinal system. Till now, only margin-negative pancreatectomy is known to be the best treatment option for long-term survival. However, the resection rate is reported to be less than 20%. Even in cases of curative resection, most patients generally experience disease recurrence and ultimately die of metastatic disease. Therefore, surgery alone is not enough and adjuvant systemic chemotherapy should be considered for proper management of pancreatic cancer. But, its related toxicity and insufficient oncologic effect requires development of less toxic and more effective alternative treatments for pancreatic cancer. Phellinus linteus (PL), a basidiomycete, is a species of mushroom, which is reported to have the most potent antitumor effect of the basidiomycetes. Recently, there are accumulating researches discovering biologic mechanisms of PL in antitumor effect. However, very few studies were done in pancreatic cancer treatment. In this review, literatures demonstrating the anticancer effects of PL were summarized and some encouraging research data suggesting mushroom component can be alternative approach even in treating pancreatic cancer were reviewed, including our preliminary data suggesting the potential clinical application of PL in treating pancreatic cancer.