In the prior articles On Ganoderma Mushrooms and Cancer Immunotherapy, On Cordyceps Sinensis and Its Interaction with Cancer, On the Alleviation of Persistent Spike-Protein Pathology, and Dandelions: Just Pretty Flowers or Anti-Cancer Powerhouses? I mentioned a positive effect of Ganoderma lucidum being its suppression of interleukin 6 (IL-6) release. This result has been inconsistent between cell culture and a human trial in older women.1–3 In cell culture, this seems to be the case, but in humans the translation of this isn't given. It's not entirely clear what the differentiating factor is here, but may have to do with lost cell-cell or organ-organ interactions in cell culture as compared with whole organisms.
This is an oversight and I must thus retract the prior presumption, that G. lucidum and its extracts are in any way useful for the modulation of IL-6 levels in cancers over-expressing them.
I will be composing a new article on the handling of IL-6 over-expression in the near future to make up for this mistake. As such, G. lucidum is useful for some immune modulatory functions, but its use no longer recommendable in cancer across the board, as many cancers do use IL-6 over-expression, and as this IL-6 does play a vital role in the ability of some cancers to resist treatment and evade immunity.4–5 In some cases, G. lucidum administration may still be helpful, but this should only follow prior individualised phenotyping of the cancer in question.
For an anti-body medication already in human use for the exact suppression of IL-6 signalling, see On the Therapeutic Potential of Tocilizumab in IL-6-Positive Cancers.
Apologies for the confusion and need for correction.
God bless,
Merlin L. Marquard.
References
- Cao Y, Xu X wei, Liu S, Huang L, Gu JX. Ganoderma: A Cancer Immunotherapy Review. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2018;9.
- Iser-Bem PN, Lobato TB, Alecrim-Zeza AL, Oliveira LC dos S de, Passos MEP, Manuel R, et al. Ganoderma lucidum dry extract supplementation modulates T lymphocyte function in older women. British Journal of Nutrition. 2024 July;132(2):130–40.
- Wachtel-Galor S, Yuen J, Buswell JA, Benzie IFF. Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi or Reishi): A Medicinal Mushroom. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects [Internet]. 2nd edn Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011 [cited 2026 Jan 23]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92757/
- Thuya WL, Cao Y, Ho PCL, Wong ALA, Wang L, Zhou J, et al. Insights into IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling in the tumor microenvironment: Implications for cancer therapy. Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews. 2025 Jan 17.
- Liang Y, Shao Y, Gu W. Role of interleukin-6 in resistance to tumor therapy. Discov Onc. 2025 Sept 30;16(1):1791.
