Modified Citrus Pectin - January 2004 Research Update

(Per Dr Eliaz ) Scientific research continues to validate and extend the benefits of modified citrus pectin MCP) as an important nutrient in the prevention and treatment of cancer.   In my Feb 2003 research update on modified citrus pectin I reviewed two studies.   One included promising preliminary data on a phase II trial testing the effects of MCP in prostate cancer and the other study demonstrated MCP was effective in inhibiting human breast and colon cancer.    The complete results of the clinical trial are now available.

MCP Fights Recurrent Prostate Cancer

The Phase II clinical trial investigating the effects of MCP in recurrent prostate cancer has been completed and was published last month in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.   Since an earlier pilot trial had demonstrated the effectiveness in slowing down the rise of prostate specific anitgen (PSA) in a men with prostate cancer, a longer, more controlled study was undertaken in men where standard treatment (radical prostatectomy, radiation, or cyrosurgery) was initially successful (PSA = 0) but then subsequently PSA began to rise.   This type of cancer recurrence typically represents a more aggressive form of cancer.   The study results are remarkable.

Seventy percent of the men treated experienced a significant slowing of the rise in their PSA representing a slowing of disease progression.    The details are as follows.    Ten patients experiencing cancer recurrence were given 15 grams of modified citrus pectin (PectasolÆ, EcoNugenicsÆ, Inc., Santa Rosa, California, 95407) per day for one year.    Eight of the patients responded to the treatment.    Seven out of ten patients had a statistically significant response and a eighth patient responded with a 78% lengthening of his PSA progression which was not statistically significant, but certainly clinically relevant.    Six out of the ten subjects more than doubled their PSA doubling time.   This increase in the PSA doubling time means a significant reduction in the chance of a premature death from cancer.

While MCP alone isn¼t a cure for prostate cancer it is an important adjunct to standard treatment or a valuable nutrient for men in „watchful waiting¾.   It also has many other health benefits which may contribute to a person¼s quality of life while they meet health challenges such as cancer.

While the mechanism of action of this important nutrient involves the MCP polysaccharide chain interacting with galectin molecules on the surface of cancer cells and blocking the ability of the tumor to grow and spread, new research supports a broader range of action in maintaining optimal health and preventing cancer.   This year a pilot trial demonstrated that MCP increases the urinary excretion of toxic metals and additional research with pectin suggests that MCP may have a systemic effect on the immune system which will help assist immune cells in detecting and destroying cancer.

MCP Removes Toxic Metals from the Body

Each day numerous cells in the body become cancerous.   It is our immune system that we have to thank for detecting and destroying these cells.   Still, for certain individuals, the immune system fails and a clinically relevant cancer occurs.    One known suppressor of the immune system is toxic or heavy metals.    MCP benefits the immune system by removing toxic metals from the body as demonstrated in a recent pilot trial investigating the metal chelation properties of MCP.

The results from the pilot trial were presented in August at the University of California, Davis Nutritional Toxicology Conference.    In the study healthy individuals took 15 grams MCP (PectaSol) a day for six days.   Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected on day zero (baseline), day one and day six and tested for essential elements and toxic metals.   MCP increased the urinary excretion of mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium but had no effect on the excretion of essential elements.

The increases in urinary excretion were modest, but the side effects typically experienced by harsher chelators were absent.    The therapeutic strength of MCP is its ability to chelate and remove metals directly from the bloodstream, thereby reducing the body burden of metals over time in a slow, gentle manner.    This study confirmed this by providing a report of one individual using MCP for 10 months.   This person showed a dramatic reduction in the body burden of mercury, lead, arsenic, and nickel indicating ongoing removal of metals by the MCP.

Pectin and the Immune System

Ther is evidence that components of MCP activates the immune system.   There is now further evidence that pectin shifts the immune system away from immune responses designed to fight bacterial infections and towards a more balanced immune system, actively searching for cancer or virus infected cells.   The specific study reports on changes in the immune cells of the intestinal tract as a result of ingesting pectin, but one can immediately see that with a modified citrus pectin, same adherent structure as pectin, but modified so that it can be absorbed into the bloodstream, the immune system throughout the body can be activated to seek out and destroy cancer cells.   When the immune system is focused on bacterial infections (a state sometimes called Th2 or antibody dominated immunity) a person tends towards allergies and is more reactive to pollens and food that never used to be a problem.    In addition, when the immune system is focused on bacteria, pollen, and odd food particles it „forgets¾ to do its job looking for cancer cells.    When the immune system is on the alert for cancer it is considered in a Th1 or cell mediated immunity state.    Maintaining an appropriately balanced immune system is important, especially in chronic diseases and now we have evidence that MCP can make an important contribution to the class of nutrients and herbs that modulate the immune system.

Eliaz, I. (2001). "The Potential Role of Modified Citrus Pectin in the Prevention Of Cancer Metastasis." Clinical Practice of Alternative Medicine 2(3).

Eliaz, I. and D. Rode (2003). The effect of modified citrus pectin on the urinary excretion of toxic elements. Fifth Annual Conference of Environmental Health Scientists: Nutritional Toxicology and Metabolomics, Univeristy of California, Davis.

Guess, B. W., M. C. Scholz, et al. (2003). "Modified citrus pectin (MCP) increases the prostate-specific antigen doubling time in men with prostate cancer: a phase II pilot study." Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 6(4): 301-4.

Lim, B. O., S. H. Lee, et al. (2003). "Effect of dietary pectin on the production of immunoglobulins and cytokines by mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes in mouse colitis induced with dextran sulfate sodium." Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 67(8): 1706-12.

Nangia-Makker, P., V. Hogan, et al. (2002). "Inhibition of human cancer cell growth and metastasis in nude mice by oral intake of modified citrus pectin." J Natl Cancer Inst 94(24): 1854-62.