Torkelson CJ, Sweet E, Homann D, et al. Immunological and clinical effects of Trametes versicolor in women with breast cancer during adjuvant hormonal therapy: A placebo-controlled randomized pilot study. ISRN Oncology. 2012;2012:251632.
Rationale
Post-chemotherapy immune suppression lingers through adjuvant hormonal therapy; whether turkey tail can measurably restore NK-cell function during that window is the exact clinical question this pilot asked.
Methods
A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled pilot: 41 women with stage I–IIIB breast cancer, post-combination-chemotherapy, on adjuvant tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, took standardized T. versicolor mycelial biomass 6 g/day or placebo for 6 months. NK-cell populations (CD3⁻CD56⁺), cytotoxicity against K562 target cells, and FACT-F fatigue were measured.
Results
NK-cell relative and absolute percentages and K562-directed cytotoxicity recovered significantly in the turkey-tail group versus placebo at 6 months (p < 0.01). FACT-F fatigue scores improved. Tolerability: excellent, no serious adverse events.
Conclusions
Six months of standardized turkey-tail mycelium during adjuvant hormonal therapy produced a measurable NK-cell recovery — a functional immune result, not just a count.
Worth noting
p<0.01 on a functional cytotoxicity assay (K562 kill) is a real endpoint — this is among the better-controlled turkey-tail data. Still a pilot (n=41) and still a specific preparation; and immune recovery, while meaningful for infection resilience, is not itself a cancer-outcome measure — survival effects belong to the PSK meta-analyses.