“Medicinal mushrooms have been used for hundreds of years, mainly in Asian countries, for treatment of infections. More recently, they have also been used in the treatment of pulmonary diseases and cancer. Medicinal mushrooms have been approved adjuncts to standard cancer treatments in Japan and China for more than 30 years and have an extensive clinical history of safe use as single agents or combined with radiation therapy or chemotherapy.More than 100 species of medicinal mushrooms are used in Asia. Some of the more commonly used species include Ganoderma lucidum (reishi), Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor (turkey tail), Lentinus edodes (shiitake), and Grifola frondosa (maitake).Studies have examined the effects of mushrooms on immune response pathways and on direct antitumor mechanisms. The immune effects are mediated through the mushrooms stimulation of innate immune cells, such as monocytes, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells. The activity is generally considered to be caused by the presence of high-molecular-weight polysaccharides in the mushrooms, although other constituents may also be involved. Clinical trials in cancer patients have demonstrated that G. lucidum products are generally well tolerated.[1]Many of the medical and scientific terms used in this summary are hypertext linked (at first use in each section) to the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms, which is oriented toward nonexperts.”

Medicinal Mushrooms (PDQ®) – PDQ Cancer Information Summaries – NCBI Bookshelf