Highlights
Nutritional supplements and extracts like Rutin 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 Rutin supplement and why should not take them?
Is it okay to take Rutin 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 Rutin extracts or nutritional supplements may benefit Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma patients on Cisplatin treatment over Lecithin nutritional supplements. But Rutin supplements or Rutin extracts offer less benefit if on Cyclophosphamide treatment for Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors compared to Stigmasterol. Similarly, taking nutritional supplements Rutin may benefit healthy individuals who are at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene ALK over Damiana. But avoid nutritional supplements Rutin when at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene VHL.
The takeaway being – cancer, genomics, treatments and other personalized factors will influence decision making to questions like: Are extracts or nutritional supplements Rutin beneficial and should not be taken? Why should Rutin be not taken? Who should not take Rutin? What are side effects of Rutin with Cyclophosphamide chemotherapy? What are the benefits of Rutin for cancer? Can Rutin 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 Rutin? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene ALK? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene VHL? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma? Should you take it when on Cisplatin treatment? Should you continue taking it if you change your treatment from Cisplatin to Cyclophosphamide? 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 Rutin 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 Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma or Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors, 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 Rutin.
So the question is that are all genetic risks and cancer indications to be considered uniformly when making decisions on the use of Rutin extracts or nutritional supplements? Are the biochemical pathway implications of genetic risk for cancer due to mutation of gene ALK the same as due to mutation of gene VHL? Are the implications of Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma the same as Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors? Is it one and the same if you are on treatment with Cyclophosphamide or Cisplatin?
Rutin – An Extract or Nutritional Supplement
Rutin is a flavonoid that is abundantly found in different plants including certain vegetables and fruits. It is also known as rutoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside, and sophorin. It is considered to have antioxidant, neuroprotective and cardioprotective activities. Following are some of the potential health benefits of Rutin:
- May strengthen blood vessels and improve circulation
- May reduce swelling in the arms or legs due to damage to the lymph system
- May reduce cholesterol
- May reduce blood clots
- May reduce osteoarthritis pain
However, Rutin supplement intake may lead to certain side-effects in some people such as:
- Headache
- Heaviness in legs
- Skin Rashes
- Stomach upset
- Blurred vision
- Muscle Stiffness
- Flushed skin
- Slow or fast heartbeats
- Fluid accumulation in your knees, feet and ankles
Rutin supplements contain many active ingredients including Rutin at different concentration levels. The molecular pathways which are regulated by Rutin include Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, Oxidative Stress, DNA Repair and JAK-STAT Signaling. 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 Rutin individually or in combination is an important decision to be made. When making decisions on the use of supplement Rutin over other nutritional supplements – do consider all these factors.
Who Should not take Rutin Supplements and Why?
There is no easy way to answer the question “For which cancers should I not chooseRutin nutritional supplements”. Just like the same chemotherapy treatment does not work across patients, for similar reasons Rutin 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 Rutin should be avoided or not and why.
1. Will Rutin Supplements benefit Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors patients undergoing Cyclophosphamide treatment?
Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like ALK, APC and DAXX leading to biochemical pathway changes in Oxidative Stress, Growth Factor Signaling, JAK-STAT Signaling, Angiogenesis, Androgen Signaling and Apoptosis. A cancer treatment like Cyclophosphamide 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, Rutin supplement should not be taken for Primary Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors along with treatment Cyclophosphamide. Rutin supplement impacts the biochemical pathway called Oxidative Stress 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 Rutin Supplements benefit Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients undergoing Cisplatin Treatment?
Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like ABRAXAS1, PIK3CB and NUP93 leading to biochemical pathway changes in Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, Hematopoiesis and Inositol Phosphate Signaling. 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, Rutin supplements should be considered for Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma along with the treatment Cisplatin. Rutin supplement impacts pathways/processes like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition which either obstruct drivers of Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma and/or improve Cisplatin treatment effect.
Foods to Eat After Cancer Diagnosis!
No two cancers are the same. Go beyond the common nutrition guidelines for everyone and make personalized decisions about food and supplements with confidence.
3. What about Rutin Supplements for Healthy Individuals with VHL 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. VHL is one of the genes generally available in panels for cancer risk testing.
VHL mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like DNA Repair and Hypoxia to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Rutin should not be taken when the genetic panel identifies mutation of VHL for Kidney Cancer. Rutin impacts pathways/processes like DNA Repair and creates adverse conditions with VHL.
4. What about Rutin Supplements for Healthy Individuals with ALK Mutation associated Genetic Risk?
ALK is one of the genes available in panels for cancer risk testing. ALK mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like JAK-STAT Signaling and Growth Factor Signaling to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Rutin supplements may be considered when the genetic panel identifies mutations in ALK for Central Nervous System. Rutin impacts pathways/processes like JAK-STAT Signaling and creates a canceling effect in those individuals with ALK 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 Rutin 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
- Hepato-protective effect of rutin via IL-6/STAT3 pathway in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.
- cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
- Mutational landscape of metastatic cancer revealed from prospective clinical sequencing of 10,000 patients.
- Association between paraoxonases gene expression and oxidative stress in hepatotoxicity induced by CCl4.
- Cyclophosphamide-induced apoptosis in COV434 human granulosa cells involves oxidative stress and glutathione depletion.
- Competitive and noncompetitive inhibition of the DNA-dependent protein kinase.
- cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
- Targeting epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells for chemoresistant ovarian cancer.
- Cancer therapy shapes the fitness landscape of clonal hematopoiesis.
Personalized Nutrition for Cancer!
Cancer changes with time. Customize and modify your nutrition based on cancer indication, treatments, lifestyle, food preferences, allergies and other factors.