For Which Cancer Types Should I Avoid Saffron Supplement?

Highlights

Nutritional supplements and extracts like Saffron have benefits and are used by cancer patients and those at-genetic risk of cancer. There is limited or hardly any clinical data available for use of nutritional supplements and foods in cancer patients. Generating clinical evidence of efficacy for cancer through a randomized clinical trial is further infeasible due to variations in genetics and cancer chemotherapy treatments across cancer patients. Hence a different and new approach is needed to find out for which cancers you should not take Saffron supplement and why should not take them?

Is it okay to take Saffron extracts or supplements for all cancer indications and any chemotherapy treatment? A common belief but a myth is that everything natural can only be of benefit and do no harm. For example, the use of grapefruit with certain medications is not recommended. Another example is the use of spinach with some blood thinning medications can cause adverse interactions and hence to be avoided. For cancer, nutrition including plant-based foods and supplements can influence outcomes and hence an extremely important decision which needs to be made. Hence NIH-National Cancer Institute has a website for nutrition for cancer care for patients which are generalized recommendations and not personalized for cancer indication and treatments.

A frequently asked question by cancer patients and those at-risk is “What Foods and Nutritional Supplements could be beneficial over others for me?”. “Who should not take an extract or supplement and why?”. Generic guidelines like eating only plant-based-foods or avoiding all sugar or adopting a keto diet is a good start but not actionable and personalized enough.

To find answers to questions on extracts and nutritional supplements and foods requires knowledge of contained active ingredients; genetic mutation prevalence for cancer indication; understanding of underlying cancer biology; chemotherapy treatments and mechanism of actions of active ingredients.

Taking Saffron extracts or nutritional supplements may benefit Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor patients on Cisplatin treatment over Buckwheat nutritional supplements. But Saffron supplements or Saffron extracts offer less benefit if on Radiation treatment for Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma compared to Beta-sitosterol. Similarly, taking nutritional supplements Saffron may benefit healthy individuals who are at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene MLH1 over Linoleic Acid. But avoid nutritional supplements Saffron when at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene CDK4.

The takeaway being – cancer, genomics, treatments and other personalized factors will influence decision making to questions like: Are extracts or nutritional supplements Saffron beneficial and should not be taken? Why should Saffron be not taken? Who should not take Saffron? What are side effects of Saffron with Radiation chemotherapy? What are the benefits of Saffron for cancer? Can Saffron help fight cancer and so on.

Whenever there are changes in chemotherapy treatments or cancer tissue genetics – the nutrition may change and hence needs to be re-evaluated. Do consider factors like cancer indication, ongoing chemotherapy treatments and nutritional supplements, age, gender, weight, height, lifestyle and genetics for personalization of nutrition.

Brief Overview

Use of nutritional supplements – vitamins, herbs, minerals, probiotics, and other specialty categories are increasing. Supplements are high concentrations of active ingredients which are also found in different foods. Difference between supplements and foods being that foods contain more than one active ingredient at much lower concentrations. Every active ingredient in an extract or nutritional supplement or food has a unique mechanism of action which can influence nutrition decisions.

These are some example questions which nutrition planning should help answer for you. Should you take supplements Saffron? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene MLH1? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene CDK4? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor? Should you take it when on Cisplatin treatment? Should you continue taking it if you change your treatment from Cisplatin to Radiation? So a general explanation like – it is organic and plant-based or it increases immunity is not sufficient information for making a decision of use of Saffron extracts and nutritional supplements.

Cancer

Genetic variations across cancer patients can be different and hence no two cancers are alike. The improved availability of “personalized to genetics” chemotherapy treatments and cancer disease monitoring via blood and saliva have been significant factors to improve outcomes. The earlier the lifestyle and treatment intervention – the better the influence on outcome. Genetic testing has the potential to assess cancer risk and susceptibility early. But for at-risk individuals besides regular monitoring in most cases there are no therapeutic treatment intervention options available. After diagnosis with cancer such as Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor or Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma, the treatments get personalized to tumor genomics and factors like staging of disease, age and gender. During cancer remission (after treatment cycle is complete) – monitoring is used for assessment of any relapse and accordingly decide on next steps. A large majority of cancer patients and those at-risk may take nutritional supplements like Saffron.

So the question is that are all genetic risks and cancer indications to be considered uniformly when making decisions on the use of Saffron extracts or nutritional supplements? Are the biochemical pathway implications of genetic risk for cancer due to mutation of gene MLH1 the same as due to mutation of gene CDK4? Are the implications of Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor the same as Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma? Is it one and the same if you are on treatment with Radiation or Cisplatin?

Saffron – An Extract or Nutritional Supplement

Saffron is an expensive spice which is derived from a flower called crocus sativus. The dried stigmas, the thread-like parts of the flower, are used to make the Saffron spice. It is widely cultivated in countries like Iran, India and Greece. Saffron has very strong antioxidant properties. Following are some of the possible health benefits of Saffron:

• May help reduce depression
• May improve mood
• May reduce premenstrual syndrome
• May help reduce appetite

Saffron supplements contain many active ingredients including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Crocin, Retinol and 17alpha-ethynylestradiol at different concentration levels. The molecular pathways which are regulated by Saffron include Cell Cycle Checkpoints, PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling, MAPK Signaling and Mismatch Repair. These biochemical pathways directly or indirectly regulate specific cancer molecular endpoints like growth, spread and death of cancer cells. Because of this biological regulation – for cancer nutrition, the right choice of supplements like Saffron individually or in combination is an important decision to be made. When making decisions on the use of supplement Saffron over other nutritional supplements – do consider all these factors.

Who Should not take Saffron Supplements and Why?

There is no easy way to answer the question “For which cancers should I not chooseSaffron nutritional supplements”. Just like the same chemotherapy treatment does not work across patients, for similar reasons Saffron in comparison with other nutritional supplements may be beneficial or not. Along with which cancer and associated genetics – the ongoing treatments, lifestyle habits, height, weight and food allergies are all factors in deciding if Saffron should be avoided or not and why.

1. Will Saffron Supplements benefit Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma patients undergoing Radiation treatment?

Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like BRAF, FGFR1 and NF1 leading to biochemical pathway changes in RAS-RAF Signaling, MAPK Signaling, Angiogenesis and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. A cancer treatment like Radiation works through a specific pathway mechanism of action. The goal is to have a good overlap between the treatment and cancer driving pathways for a personalized approach which is effective. In such a condition any food or nutritional supplement which has a contrary effect to the treatment or reduces the overlap should be avoided. As an example, Saffron supplement should not be taken for Primary Pilocytic Astrocytoma along with treatment Radiation. Saffron supplement impacts the biochemical pathway called PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling which either promotes drivers of the disease and/or nullifies the treatment effect. Some of the factors which should be considered when choosing nutrition are type of cancer, treatments and supplements being taken currently (if any

2. Will Saffron Supplements benefit Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor Patients undergoing Cisplatin Treatment?

Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like ABHD6, STOX1 and PDZD4 leading to biochemical pathway changes in Cell Cycle Checkpoints. A cancer treatment like Cisplatin works through specific pathway mechanisms. The goal is to have a good overlap between the treatment and cancer driving pathways for a personalized approach. In such a condition any food or nutritional supplement which supports treatment action or improves the overlap should be considered. As an example, Saffron supplements should be considered for Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor along with the treatment Cisplatin. Saffron supplement impacts pathways/processes like Cell Cycle Checkpoints which either obstruct drivers of Primary Cervical Neuroendocrine Tumor and/or improve Cisplatin treatment effect.

3. What about Saffron Supplements for Healthy Individuals with CDK4 Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

Different companies offer panels of genes to be tested for assessing genetic risk to different cancers. These panels cover genes associated with cancers of the breast, ovary, uterus, prostate, and gastrointestinal system and others. Genetic testing of these genes may confirm a diagnosis and help guide treatment and management decisions. Identification of a disease-causing variant may also guide testing and diagnosis of at-risk relatives. CDK4 is one of the genes generally available in panels for cancer risk testing.

CDK4 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like MAPK Signaling and Cell Cycle to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Saffron should not be taken when the genetic panel identifies mutation of CDK4 for Skin Cancer. Saffron impacts pathways/processes like MAPK Signaling and creates adverse conditions with CDK4.

4. What about Saffron Supplements for Healthy Individuals with MLH1 Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

MLH1 is one of the genes available in panels for cancer risk testing. MLH1 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like Mismatch Repair to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Saffron supplements may be considered when the genetic panel identifies mutations in MLH1 for Colon Cancer. Saffron impacts pathways/processes like Mismatch Repair and creates a canceling effect in those individuals with MLH1 mutation.

* Other Factors are also included like BMI, Treatments, Lifestyle Habits

In Conclusion

It is important to remember that cancer chemotherapy treatments and nutrition are never the same for everyone. Food and nutritional supplements like Saffron are chosen by you and can influence outcomes.

“What should I eat?” is a commonly asked question by cancer patients and those at-risk. The answer to this question depends on cancer indication, underlying genetics, current chemotherapy treatments, food allergies, lifestyle information, and food preferences.

The addon.life approach to nutrition personalization uses knowledge of active ingredients contained in foods and nutritional supplements, cancer biology, chemotherapy treatment action and genetic mutation prevalence across cancer indications. addon.life team of clinicians, clinical scientists and engineers are experts in cancer biology focusing only on nutrition personalization for cancer patients and those at-risk.

What food you eat and which supplements you take is a decision you make. Your decision should include consideration of the cancer gene mutations, which cancer, ongoing treatments and supplements, any allergies, lifestyle information, weight, height and habits.

The nutrition planning for cancer from addon is not based on internet searches. It automates the decision making for you based on molecular science implemented by our scientists and software engineers. Irrespective of whether you care to understand the underlying biochemical molecular pathways or not - for nutrition planning for cancer that understanding is needed.

Get started NOW with your nutrition planning by answering questions on the name of cancer, genetic mutations, ongoing treatments and supplements, any allergies, habits, lifestyle, age group and gender.

References

• cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
• The PI3-K/AKT-pathway and radiation resistance mechanisms in non-small cell lung cancer.
• Crocetin, a carotenoid derivative, inhibits VEGF-induced angiogenesis via suppression of p38 phosphorylation.
• Genetic Determinants of Cisplatin Resistance in Patients With Advanced Germ Cell Tumors.
• Recurrent somatic alterations of FGFR1 and NTRK2 in pilocytic astrocytoma.
• Transcriptional activation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 by PML/RARalpha.
• Vitamin A regulates Akt signaling through the phospholipid fatty acid composition.
• cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
• Integrative clinical genomics of metastatic cancer.