ABSTRACT
Cancer is one of the major fatal diseases worldwide, and affects the people of all ages. Not all cancers can be detected at an early stage; lung cancer is an example of a cancer that is difficult to detect early and this explains the poor prognosis. Currently available cancer treatments include surgery to remove a cancer that has not undergone metastasis followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy to eradicate residual cancer cells, radiotherapy for treatment of certain cancers like nasopharyngeal cancer and cancers that have progressed beyond the early stage, and chemotherapy for cancers that have metastasized. Immunotherapy is also a possible method of treatment that can be used to boost the function of the immune system in the fight against cancer cells. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy suffer from the drawback that normal cells are also affected, resulting in loss of hair and appetite and deterioration in hematologic parameters. In view of the undesirable side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, attention has been drawn to alternative and complementary forms of treatment. Some of these compounds, such as polysaccharopeptide PSP and the protein-bound polysaccharide from Coriolus versicolor and Ganoderma polysaccharide, are commercially available in some countries, especially those in the orient. Clinical trials have been conducted with these compounds and it has been found that in general, there is an improvement in the immune status of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Tumor regression has occurred and survival rate has been prolonged in some of these patients. However, the possibility of exploiting other fungal compounds with similar activities in cancer therapy or immunomodulation has not been widely explored, nor has the possible use of such fungal products as prophylactics. It is worth pointing out that the antibiotic penicillin and the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin are examples of fungal products successfully developed into therapeutic agents. They mark only the beginning of the use of fungal products in the field of medicine and more may well follow. This chapter focuses on the variety of fungal compounds exhibiting immunomodulation and antitumor activities.
