- Pancreatic cancer life expectancy is among the worst: ~87% die within 5 years; only ~2% survive beyond 10 years.
- Tumours of long-term survivors (5+ years) contained nearly 12x more T-cells than short-term survivors.
- Immune-system strength is a decisive factor - more active T-cells and NK cells mean better odds.
- A Japanese trial found water-based oral mushroom polysaccharides gave longer-than-predicted survival in advanced disease.
Life expectancy after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis
The overall life-expectancy statistics for pancreatic cancer are fairly grim: about 87% of patients die within five years.1 The chance of surviving more than ten years after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is only about 2%. Pancreatic cancer survival remains one of the worst.2
But amid these truly bleak statistics, a glimmer of hope has appeared. Studying patients who landed in that 2% who overcame pancreatic cancer and did not give in to the statistics, scientists found promising associations.3
The immune system makes the difference
Suspecting that this might be connected to immunity, scientists examined how many immune cells were in the tumour, and found that the more immune cells, the longer the patient's survival time.4 Pancreatic cancer tumours from people with short life expectancy were compared with tumours from people whose life expectancy exceeded five years. The tumours of the latter group contained nearly 12 times more immune cells called T-cells. T-cells are needed to recognise and distinguish invaders, such as infections and cancer, from the body's normal cells.
These findings indicate that the strength of the immune system is a decisive factor in fighting pancreatic cancer. The more active the T-cells and NK cells, the greater the chance of joining the percentage of people who defy the statistics.
Mushroom polysaccharides and the evidence
Mushroom polysaccharides are one of the most studied natural means of activating precisely these immune cells. But it is important to understand: simple mushroom powders or alcohol extracts are too weak for this. Polysaccharides dissolve only in water, so only a water-based extract works. A clinical study in Japan in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer showed that taking an oral mushroom-polysaccharide extract resulted in statistically significantly longer survival compared with usual predicted figures, and improved quality of life. Breaks in use are not recommended — consistent, uninterrupted use ensures the best results.
Tumours of long-term survivors contained 12x more T-cells. A Japanese trial found water-based oral mushroom polysaccharides gave longer-than-predicted survival.
Lentinan AXT by Zenius Labs™ →About 87% of patients die within five years, and only about 2% survive more than ten years — making pancreatic cancer survival one of the worst. But a small percentage do defy these statistics.
Research found the strength of the immune system is decisive. Tumours of long-term survivors (5+ years) contained nearly 12 times more T-cells than those of short-term survivors. More active T-cells and NK cells mean a greater chance of beating the statistics.
Mushroom polysaccharides are among the most studied natural means of activating these immune cells. A Japanese clinical study in advanced pancreatic cancer found that an oral water-based mushroom-polysaccharide extract gave statistically significantly longer survival than predicted, and improved quality of life. Simple powders and alcohol extracts are too weak.
Polysaccharides dissolve only in water, so only a water-based extract delivers them. Alcohol extracts and simple mushroom powders are too weak to activate the relevant immune cells. A concentrated formula such as Lentinan AXT by Zenius Labs™ uses water-based extraction.
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