In an unpublished study, presented at the Society of Gynecological Oncology 45th Annul Meeting on Women's Cancer, researchers found that treating cervical cancer cells with Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) led to the eradication of HPV (human papillomavirus) and decreased the rate of tumor growth in-vitro and in-vivo.

In the study, cervical cells were treated with AHCC and incubated for 72 hours with a sampling every 24 hours. The study was repeated in two orthotropic mouse models, one with HPV and the other a control without HPV. After 90 days of once daily dosing of AHCC, the HPV expression was eradicated with durable response after 30 day observation off treatment. The research was repeated to confirm the findings and add sampling for correlative testing of immune markers to determine the mechanism by which AHCC eradicated the HPV virus. The data suggests AHCC can eliminate HPV infections and may have a role in the prevention of HPV-related cancers. A confirmatory pilot study in HPV-positive women is being conducted at University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) Medical School in Houston. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States and HPV DNA has been detected in 99.7 percent of cervical cancer biopsies, yielding the largest causative relationship of any cancer (Pharmacotherapy 2012 Jan. 31(3); 280-97).

“The results of this study were very encouraging," said Judith A. Smith, Pharm.D., associate professor at the UTHealth Medical School and leader of the study.  “This study, initiated in 2008, shows that by itself AHCC has the potential to treat the HPV infection." Smith has also evaluated AHCC integration with chemotherapy agents used to treat ovarian cancer to screen for potential drug interactions  and improved activity.

AHCC is a natural immune-modulating compound derived from a specially-cultured medicinal mushroom. It has been studied at medical institutions including Yale Medical School, MD Anderson Cancer Center and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and shown to help patients with cancer, hepatitis, liver disease and viral and bacterial infections.

The AHCC Research Association is available with information on AHCC's preventative and therapeutic benefits, as well as research.