ReviewSurgery today2012
Biological mechanism and clinical effect of protein-bound polysaccharide K (KRESTIN(®)): review of development and future perspectives.
Review in Surgery today, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coriolus (Trametes) versicolor mushroom to reduce adverse effects from chemotherapy or radiotherapy in people with colorectal cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Anticancer Properties of Selected Wood-Inhabiting Fungi.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Natural polysaccharides as multifunctional anti-cancer agents: structure-activity relationships, mechanisms of action, and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Formulation Strategies for Immunomodulatory Natural Products in 3D Tumor Spheroids and Organoids: Current Challenges and Emerging Solutions.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- Immunomodulatory Natural Products in Cancer Organoid-Immune Co-Cultures: Bridging the Research Gap for Precision Immunotherapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Enhanced Anti-Cancer Potential: Investigating the Combined Effects withInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Harnessing bacterial metabolites for enhanced cancer chemotherapy: unveiling unique therapeutic potentials.Archives of microbiology · 2024Review
- Antiproliferative activity and apoptosis‑inducing effects ofBiomedical reports · 2023Article
- COVID-19 and Cancer Diseases-The Potential ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- The Health and Clinical Benefits of Medicinal Fungi.Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology · 2023Article
- Research Progress on the Mechanisms of Polysaccharides against Gastric Cancer.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Polysaccharide Krestin Prevents Alzheimer's Disease-type Pathology and Cognitive Deficits by Enhancing Monocyte Amyloid-β Processing.Neuroscience bulletin · 2022Article
- Dual Effect of the Extract from the FungusJournal of inflammation research · 2022Article
- Beta-Glucans from Fungi: Biological and Health-Promoting Potential in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Adjuvant Therapy With Mushroom Polysaccharides for Diabetic Complications.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Review
- Cytotoxic Constituents from the Sclerotia ofCells · 2018Article
- Can polysaccharide K improve therapeutic efficacy and safety in gastrointestinal cancer? a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Oncotarget · 2017Article
- Targeting of growth factors in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: The potentials of polysaccharides.Oncology letters · 2017Article
- Mushroom Polysaccharides: Chemistry and Antiobesity, Antidiabetes, Anticancer, and Antibiotic Properties in Cells, Rodents, and Humans.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2016Review
- Preoperative administration of polysaccharide Kureha and reduced plasma transforming growth factor-β in patients with advanced gastric cancer: A randomized clinical trial.Molecular and clinical oncology · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The mechanism of action of protein-bound polysaccharide K (PSK; KRESTIN(®)) involves the following actions: (1) recovery from immunosuppression induced by humoral factors such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β or as a result of surgery and chemotherapy; (2) activation of antitumor immune responses including maturation of dendritic cells, correction of Th1/Th2 imbalance, and promotion of interleukin-15 production by monocytes; and (3) enhancement of the antitumor effect of chemotherapy by induction of apoptosis and inhibition of metastasis through direct actions on tumor cells. The clinical effectiveness of PSK has been demonstrated for various cancers. In patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, combined use of PSK with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs survival, and this effect has been confirmed in multiple meta-analyses. For small-cell lung carcinoma, PSK in conjunction with chemotherapy prolongs the remission period. In addition, PSK has been shown to be effective against various other cancers, reduce the adverse effects of chemotherapy, and improve quality of life. Future studies should examine the effects of PSK under different host immune conditions and tumor properties, elucidate the mechanism of action exhibited in each situation, and identify biomarkers.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.