Table 2.

Clinical trial of natural polysaccharides against tumor.

Polysaccharide type	Whether to combine with other therapies	Cancer specie	Intervention time	Result	References
Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide (CVP)	No	Advanced non-small cell lung cancer	28 days	After 28-day treatment, there was a significant improvement in blood leukocyte and neutrophil counts, serum IgG and IgM, and percent of body fat among the treatment group	(143)
Grifola frondosa polysaccharide	No	Breast cancer	3 weeks	The intermediate dose (5–7 mg/kg per day) was associated with the most prominent functional changes, such as increased production of IL-2, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ by subsets of T cells	(144)
GLP	No	Advanced colorectal cancer	12 weeks	GLP tended to increase counts of CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD56 lymphocytes, plasma concentrations of IL-2, IL-6 and IFN-γ, and NK activity	(145)
APS	Chemotherapy	Advanced non-small cell lung cancer	3 months	APS prolonged the median survival time of patients and improved fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain, loss of appetite and other symptoms	(146)
GLP	No	Advanced-stage cancer	12 weeks	After 12 weeks of treatment, the mean serum concentrations of IL-2, IL-6, and IFN-γ increased significantly, the mean absolute number of CD56+ cells as well as NK cell activity increased significantly, and the number of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ cells increased slightly compared to baseline levels	(147)
CVP	No	Liver cancer	12 weeks	Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide subjects had less appetite loss and pain symptoms compared to placebo subjects during treatment	(148)
LNT	No	Advanced prostate carcinoma	3 months	The 50% survival length of treated and control patients was 48 and 35 months, respectively	(149)
LBP	Immunotherapy	Advanced cancer	3 months	LAK/IL-2 plus LBP treatment led to more marked increase in NK and LAK cell activity than LAK/IL-2 without LBP	(150)