Modified citrus pectin

Sorry if this has come up before but I couldn’t find a previous thread.
I was wondering if any of the knowledgeable ladies on here have heard of this supplement and its supposed ability to inhibit metastasis.
I read about it in a book I bought in Canada and think it sounds too good to be true!
Anyone taken it?
Tracey x

Hi Misty
I’ve looked it up on the internet and it certainly sounds helpful. I had to come off Arimidex mid-December because it made me so ill. I started Tamoxifen a couple of weeks ago and have decided to come off that too if it causes real problems. I thought it would be a case of just trying to keep myself healthy, and keep my fingers firmly crossed, but I shall certainly give MCP a go. Trouble is Holland & Barrett don’t sell it which means getting it over the internet.
I’m so glad you posted this. I doubt drug companies would be interested in doing research because they probably wouldn’t make much money out of it - I’m very cynical about the drug companies.

hello valanne
I’ve just finished chemo and will be starting Tamoxifen after rads. Am really hoping not to have bad side effects - but wishful thinking!
MCP doesn’t sound as if it could be harmful - unlike other supplements such as apricot kernels but i wonder why it hasn’t had more discussion on here.
It is quite expensive to buy over the internet, I wonder if independent health food shops sell it.
Let me know if you get some!!
Tracey

Hello Tracey
I got some MCP from Nutricentre - it’s the Pecta-sol that’s expensive but they do another one which is cheaper. I’m glad I read your piece as I now have had to come off Tamoxifen. It’s just one of those things. The medication is fine for most people I’m just one of those who, literally, cannot stomach it.

Val

The following information comes from the Cancer Bacup site:

"This is an alternative therapy that is claimed to stop prostate cancer and malignant melanoma from spreading. Pectin is found in many fruits, including citrus fruits. It is what we use to make jam set, and is found mostly in the pips and the pith of citrus fruits. The pectin in ‘modified citrus pectin’ (MCP) has been changed to make it easier for the body to take in through the gut.

Alternative therapists claim that pectin may help with prostate cancer and melanoma because these cancers have been tested in animal studies using MCP. In mice, MCP seemed to lower the risk of prostate cancer spread to the lungs. Also in mice, it seemed to result in less melanoma spread to the lungs. So MCP may make it harder for cancer cells to break away and spread – in mice. But it hasn’t yet been shown to affect primary cancers (the original tumour). Or to have any activity in people.

One human study has evaluated modified citrus pectin (MCP). This was a small pilot study looking at the effect of MCP on prostate specific antigen (PSA). Prostate Specific Antigen is a protein produced by prostate cells. It is produced in higher amounts by prostate cancer cells. The study looked at the time it took for PSA to double in men with prostate cancer who had not responded to treatment at all, or whose cancer had begun to grow again after treatment. It did seem to take longer for the PSA to double in some of the men on this trial. But, after looking at their results, the researchers decided that more trials with larger numbers of patients will have to be done before we can see if MCP is of any use in prostate cancer treatment. Until such studies are carried out and published, Cancer Research UK will not be able to offer any other view on this substance."

Jane