Professor Solomon P. Wasser and Medicinal Mushroom Science, with Special Attention to the Problems of Mycotherapy in Oncology.

This article is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Solomon P. Wasser and discusses the challenges within the research direction he founded with Professors T. Mizuno, S.T. Chang, and other colleagues, known as medicinal mushroom science. This research organically grows out of taxonomic studies, since understanding of the classification system leads to greater ability to make forecasts and predictions in the practical field as well as to increase knowledge of close relationships between organisms, allowing greater eeconomic organization within the search and screening for new practically significant organisms. Through the efforts of Professors Wasser, Mizuno, and Chang, the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms (IJMM) was created, combining the efforts of physicians using mushroom raw materials as an auxiliary tool and specialists in fungal biotechnology. In this work, the basic prerequisites for cancer mycotherapy are described, based on data on the mechanism of action of fungal metabolites on cancer targets. A large section of this report is devoted to a review of evidence-based medicine tools and an overview of their use among teams of Chinese researchers. It has been shown that the main recipients of mycotherapy, as well as other types of immunotherapies, are patients with stage 3 cancer who have undergone surgery to remove the primary tumor node and are undergoing chemotherapy; for these patients, their immune status must be increased, and the immune system requires a periodic rebooting. In this respect, Dectin stimulation using fungal glucans is comparable to cytokine therapy and can be characterized as an "endogenous cytokine therapy." The results of the combined treatment at this stage are to be quantified using evidence-based medicine tools, for which we recommend including the consumption of mushroom extracts in the patient questionnaire. This article also discusses challenges in the pharmacokinetics of ß-glucans and triterpenoids.

Professor Shu-Ting Chang, Cancer Mycotherapy and Le Chatelier Principle.

In the jubilee paper devoted to Professor Shu-Ting Chang, we aimed to outline the applicability of the Le Chatelier principle to various fields, especially to cancer biology and immunotherapy of malignant neoplasms. Cancer progression has been shown to be associated with a response to cell stress and survival agents. It was proclaimed that cancer immunotherapy, using fungal metabolites, should be carried out as a mode of compensation for imbalances that arise during the basic treatment. The challenges of immunotherapy in recent years have also received mention.

Profiles of Little-Known Medicinal Polypores: Haploporus odorus (Agaricomycetes).

The purpose of this study was to compile a comprehensive characterization of little-known polypores, which have recently been found to possess anticancer activity and thus can also be used in cancer target therapy. Haploporus odorus is a polypore of Holarctic distribution and has been found by harvesters working in taiga floodlands and broadleaf forests of the Northern Hemisphere. A substance known as haploporic acid A was determined in methylene chloride extract from the dried basidiomata of H. odorus. This substance can be used in cancer therapy; more details of its health benefits could be used in mycotherapy.

Profiles of Little-Known Medicinal Polypores: Funalia trogii (Agaricomycetes).

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively characterize little-known polypores that have recently been found to possess anticancer activity and thus can be used in targeted cancer therapy. Funalia trogii is a polypore with bipolar distribution and has been found by harvesters working in taiga forests, broadleaf forests, and forest-steppes of the Holarctic, and in semiarid temperate forests of the Southern Hemisphere. Substances such as gibberellic acid, abscisic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, and natural cytokinin were determined in culture media of F. trogii. Also, laccases and peroxidases of spare action have been reported in F. trogii culture media. All of the aforementioned substances can be used in targeted cancer therapy, but further investigation of F. trogii is recommended; more details of its health benefits could expand its use in mycotherapy.