The Role of the Biologically Active Supplement Transfer Factor

in Increasing Preoperative Polychemotherapy Effectiveness

in Breast Cancer and in Decreasing Side Effects.

I.G. Tsoy, M.I. Saktaganov Kazakh academy of nutrition, Alma-Ata

 

We used Transfer Factor, a biologically active supplement produced by 4Life company, USA at dosages of 1 capsule 3 times daily for 1-3 courses of treatment in conjunction with aggressive polychemotherapy treatment of breast cancer patients.  We used it to determine if it would decrease the major side effects (immunohematological effects in particular). A control group of matched subjects in age and clinical forms of the disease did not receive Transfer Factor.

 

The use of the transfer factor immunocorrector markedly contributed to the decrease in the frequency and the severity of common polychemotherapy complications such as toxification, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, taste change and intestinal function disturbances. The dynamics, as indicated by total blood count, showed a distinct protective effect of the Transfer Factor on red blood (erythrocytes number, hemoglobin, serum iron and ESR levels) and white blood (leuko- and lymphopenia) cells. As compared to the control group the test group patients also demonstrated less frequent and less pronounced polychemotherapy complications in terms of liver function (ALT, AST, GGT and gamma-glutamyltransferase),  kidney function (total urinalysis, creatinine and urea levels), and chronic pyelonephritis aggravation and other functions and in blood serum total albumen and its fractions.

 

According to immunological monitoring assays the test group experienced a smaller  decrease of relative and absolute number of total T-lymphocytes (CD3+) circulating in peripheral blood along with their helper-inductor subpopulation (CD4+) and cells expressing receptors to IL-2 (CD25+).  The increases in T-lymphocytes of suppressors and killers phenotype (CD8+) in the test group are attributable to protective effect of Transfer Factor.  The ratio CD4+/CD8+ (conventional quantitative immunoregulatory index) of the test group decreased less that for the control group during the course of polychemotherapy. Also, the decrease of natural killer cells (CD16+) in peripheral blood resulting from chemotherapy was less pronounced in the patients receiving the immunoregulating transfer factor peptides. A protective effect by transfer factor on T-helpers'cell non-specific functional activity was also demonstrated in the results from the inhibition reaction of leukocytes' migration by PHA-R (phytogemagglutinin).

 

In the test group the levels of the main classes of immunoglobulins experienced less hypoimmunoglobulinemia, another indicator of the immunoprotective effect of Transfer Factors.