For Which Cancer Types Should I Avoid Cinchona Supplement?

Highlights

Nutritional supplements and extracts like Cinchona 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 Cinchona supplement and why should not take them?

Is it okay to take Cinchona 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 Cinchona extracts or nutritional supplements may benefit Primary Mycosis fungoides patients on Romidepsin treatment over Astragalus nutritional supplements. But Cinchona supplements or Cinchona extracts offer less benefit if on Cisplatin treatment for Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma compared to Vitamin K. Similarly, taking nutritional supplements Cinchona may benefit healthy individuals who are at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene GNA11 over Red Algae. But avoid nutritional supplements Cinchona when at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene MSH6.

The takeaway being – cancer, genomics, treatments and other personalized factors will influence decision making to questions like: Are extracts or nutritional supplements Cinchona beneficial and should not be taken? Why should Cinchona be not taken? Who should not take Cinchona? What are side effects of Cinchona with Cisplatin chemotherapy? What are the benefits of Cinchona for cancer? Can Cinchona 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 Cinchona? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene GNA11? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene MSH6? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Mycosis fungoides? Should you take it when on Romidepsin treatment? Should you continue taking it if you change your treatment from Romidepsin to Cisplatin? 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 Cinchona 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 Mycosis fungoides or Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma, 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 Cinchona.

So the question is that are all genetic risks and cancer indications to be considered uniformly when making decisions on the use of Cinchona extracts or nutritional supplements? Are the biochemical pathway implications of genetic risk for cancer due to mutation of gene GNA11 the same as due to mutation of gene MSH6? Are the implications of Primary Mycosis fungoides the same as Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma? Is it one and the same if you are on treatment with Cisplatin or Romidepsin?

Cinchona – An Extract or Nutritional Supplement

Cinchona is a tree which is known for its medicinal properties. The bark of cinchona yields quinine and other alkaloids which were used for treating malaria. (Sara Eyal, Toxins (Basel)., 2018) It is also used as a bitter flavoring agent in tonic water. Due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, cinchona bark has been used for a variety of health conditions. Some of the purported uses/benefits of cinchona are listed below:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Mouth and throat diseases
• Enlarged spleen
• Bloating in stomach
• Cold
• Leg cramp

Cinchona supplements contain many active ingredients including Quinine Sulfate, Cinchonine and Quinidine at different concentration levels. The molecular pathways which are regulated by Cinchona include Amino Acid Metabolism, Apoptosis, P53 Signaling and cGMP 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 Cinchona individually or in combination is an important decision to be made. When making decisions on the use of supplement Cinchona over other nutritional supplements – do consider all these factors.

Who Should not take Cinchona Supplements and Why?

There is no easy way to answer the question “For which cancers should I not chooseCinchona nutritional supplements”. Just like the same chemotherapy treatment does not work across patients, for similar reasons Cinchona 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 Cinchona should be avoided or not and why.

1. Will Cinchona 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 Apoptosis, Hematopoiesis and Inositol Phosphate Signaling. A cancer treatment like Cisplatin 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, Cinchona supplement should not be taken for Primary Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma along with treatment Cisplatin. Cinchona supplement impacts the biochemical pathway called Apoptosis 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 Cinchona Supplements benefit Primary Mycosis fungoides Patients undergoing Romidepsin Treatment?

Primary Mycosis fungoides is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like PEG3, ABCA1 and PRPF8 leading to biochemical pathway changes in Amino Acid Metabolism. A cancer treatment like Romidepsin 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, Cinchona supplements should be considered for Primary Mycosis fungoides along with the treatment Romidepsin. Cinchona supplement impacts pathways/processes like Amino Acid Metabolism which either obstruct drivers of Primary Mycosis fungoides and/or improve Romidepsin treatment effect.

3. What about Cinchona Supplements for Healthy Individuals with MSH6 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. MSH6 is one of the genes generally available in panels for cancer risk testing.

MSH6 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like P53 Signaling and Mismatch Repair to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Cinchona should not be taken when the genetic panel identifies mutation of MSH6 for Colon Cancer. Cinchona impacts pathways/processes like P53 Signaling and creates adverse conditions with MSH6.

4. What about Cinchona Supplements for Healthy Individuals with GNA11 Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

GNA11 is one of the genes available in panels for cancer risk testing. GNA11 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like cGMP Signaling, G-protein-coupled Receptor Signaling and Platelet aggregation to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Cinchona supplements may be considered when the genetic panel identifies mutations in GNA11 for Eye Cancer. Cinchona impacts pathways/processes like cGMP Signaling and creates a canceling effect in those individuals with GNA11 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 Cinchona 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

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• Targeting class I histone deacetylase 2 in MYC amplified group 3 medulloblastoma.
• MICE models: superior to the HERG model in predicting Torsade de Pointes.
• cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
• Cancer therapy shapes the fitness landscape of clonal hematopoiesis.