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Enhance BCG Intravesical Immunotherapy
“We found that curcumin potentiated BCG-induced apoptosis of human bladder cancer cells. BCG stimulated the release of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) from peripheral mononuclear neutrophils in a dose- and time-dependent manner…
Dear Cancer Coach- My husband just had his third surgery for bladder cancer, diagnosed last year. Diagnosis..high grade papillary urothelial carcinoma with no diagnostic evidence of invasion identified.
I read your blog post about Green Tea Extract and Bladder Cancer. My husband is starting Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) intravesical immunotherapy on 9/10/18 for the next 6 weeks.
What is your recommended dosage/protocol for taking green tea and green tea extract?
Hi Megan,
I am sorry to read of your husband’s bladder cancer diagnosis though glad to read that there is no evidence of “invasion.”
Two things. In answer to your question about green tea dosing, as you can see from the quote below, the study that you came in on talks about time and dose dependant manner as well as different types of BC cells so there is no specific dose given for your situation. I follow the dose given on the label- 750 mg in the case of the brand linked in that study.
The other issue I wanted to mention are other evidence-based, non-toxic supplements that integrate or synergize with BCG to enhance the efficacy of this therapy. Please read the study linked below and consider supplementing with curcumin as well as green tea extract. I take one capsule of Life Extension Super BioCurcumin.
Curcumin potentiates the antitumor effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) against bladder cancer through the downregulation of NF-kappaB and upregulation of TRAIL receptors.
“We found that curcumin potentiated BCG -induced apoptosis of human bladder cancer cells. BCG stimulated the release of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) from peripheral mononuclear neutrophils in a dose- and time-dependent manner, whereas curcumin enhanced the upregulation of TRAIL receptors…”
Green Tea (EGCG Catechins) Causes Apoptotis (kills) Bladder Cancer
“Compared to control-treated cells, treatment with catechin agents significantly suppressed cell growth in a dose-dependent fashion (P < 0.01), with strongest effects evoked by ECG and EGCG in UROtsa cells, ECG in low-grade RT4 and SW780 cells, and PP-60 and EGCG in high-grade TCCSUP and T24 cells…”
To Learn More about the pros and cons of immunotherapy- click now
Let me know if you have any questions. Hang in there,
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
The Most BioAvailable Curcumin Formulas
“Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin (CU) products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism”
A search of the Pubmed database for the word curcumin yields 601 studies spaning health topics from multiple myeloma and colorectal cancer, to chemotherapies that synergizes with CU, to Alzheimer’s Disease, arthritis and more. Based on years of reading studies and personal accounts, I think it is safe to say that CU supplementation is safe and relatively inexpensive.
I have read about myeloma patients taking daily doses of CU from 400 milligrams to 8 grams (1000 milligrams = 1 gram). By almost any measure, CU is a safe, inexpensive wonder drug.
The only challenge is that CU is famously difficult to absorb in the body. In other words, a person has to mix curcumin with some sort of fat (coconut oil, chocolate, etc.) or take a brand of curcumin capsule that is already formulated to be more “bioavailable” in order to derive the full benefit of CU.
The study linked and exerpted below reviews different formulations of CU. The study itself lists the three most bioavailable formulation/brand of CU and I’ve added an excerpt from a further review from Consumerlab.com that lists four additional bioavailable brands of CU.
Recommended Reading:
- CU versus Turmeric as Cancer Therapy-What’s the Difference?
- CU Suppresses Colon Cancer, Enhances Chemotherapy
- Prostate Cancer: CU Curbs Prostate Cancer Metastases, Study Shows
- CU vs. cancer: The scientific evidence continues to pile up
Curcumin
“CU is a bright yellow chemical produced by some plants. It is the principal curcuminoid of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a member of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is sold as an herbal supplement, cosmetics ingredient, food flavoring, and food coloring.[1]“
Bioavailable curcumin formulations: A review of pharmacokinetic studies in healthy volunteers.
“Curcumin is a widely studied natural compound which has shown tremendous in vitro therapeutic potential. Despite that, the clinical efficacy of the native CU is weak due to its low bioavailability and high metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract. During the last decade, researchers have come up with different formulations with a focus on improving the bioavailability of curcumin. As a result, a significant number of bioavailable curcumin-based formulations were introduced with the varying range of enhanced bioavailability.
The purpose of this review is to collate the published clinical studies of CU products with improved bioavailability over conventional (unformulated) CU. Based on the literature search, 11 curcumin formulations with available human bioavailability and pharmacokinetics data were included in this review. Further, the data on clinical study design, analytical method, pharmacokinetic parameters and other relevant details of each formulation were extracted.
Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism. The review hopes to provide a quick reference guide for anyone looking information on these bioavailable curcumin formulations.
Based on the published reports,
exhibited over 100-fold higher bioavailability relative to reference unformulated CU. Suggested mechanisms accounting for improved bioavailability of the formulations and details on the bioanalysis methods are also discussed.”
According to Consumerlab.com:
“Novasol has the highest bioavailability (185 x compared to unforumulated CU), followed by Curcuwin (136 x), Longvida (100 x), Meriva (48 x), BCM-95 (27 x), Curcumin C3 Complex + Bioperene (20 x), and then Theracumin (16 x).”