**4. Anticancer activity**

Reproductive system diseases are responsible for several types of cancers like: prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, uterine cancer, colorectal cancer etc. The bioactive compounds present in the mushroom are playing an important role in the treatment of reproductive disease-associated cancers. There are several medicinal mushrooms like *Ganoderma lucidum*, *Trametes versicolor, Inonotus obliquus, Fomitopsis officinalis*, etc. which are frequently used in the treatment of cancer. Prostate cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in men worldwide and the utmost common male malignancy in several western countries. The incidence rate of prostate cancer is highest in the United States, lower in European countries and lowest in Asia [52]. The common risk factor related to prostate cancer is age, obesity, family history, environmental factors and dietary factors [53]. Retinoblastoma (Rb) and p53 (tumor suppressor gene) play a vital role in the progression of prostate cancer [54]. The anomalous expression

in growth factors and receptors such as: transforming growth factor-a (TGF-a), epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b), HER-2/ neu, and c-erbB-3 oncogenes [41] also lead to the malignant prostate cancer. To combat these problems, natural compounds and fungal metabolites can be used as inhibitors for targeting cancerous cells in certain cancers [55–58]. Ganoderma lucidum belongs to the Ganoderma genus, oriental medicinally mushroom, which have been widely used in Asian countries for centuries to cure different diseases including cancer. Plenty of species of this genus have antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and immune-stimulating activities [59]. These activities were due to the production of various bioactive compounds present in medicinally mushrooms such as proteins [60–62], terpenes, sterols, and polyphenols, etc. The dried powder of *G. lucidum* is used as dietary supplements and is also used as a chemotherapeutic agent for cancer therapy. It induced the apoptosis of prostate cancer (PC-3) cells by lowering the expression of NF-jB-mediated Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl expression while the upregulation of the Bax protein [63]. The extracts of *G. lucidum* suppress the proliferation of cells and induce the G1 cell cycle in prostate cancer and breast cancer cells line [64]. Trametes versicolor, is a medicinal mushroom, belongs to the class Agaricomycetes shows anti-proliferative effects upon hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC), prostate cancer (DU145) and human breast cancer (4 T1) [42]. Several studies suggested that in *T. versicolor* β-glucan-based polysaccharopeptide fraction (PSP) and polysaccharide fraction (PSK) are present which are used as immunotherapeutic anticancer agents [65]. PSP activates cells of the immune system by enhancing the secretion of histamine, chemokines and cytokines such as interleukins (IL-1b and IL-6), TNF-a and prostaglandin E which excites dendrite and T-cell infiltration into tumor and lowers the damaging undesirable effects of chemotherapy [66]. Breast cancer is becoming one of the most common leading causes of mortality among women. The molecular subtypes of breast cancer are identified by gene expression profiles and lead to the identification of biomarkers that may ease the prognosis and treatment of cancer [67]. The molecular and pathological marker for the treatment of breast cancer is based on the presence or absence of progesterone receptors (PR), estrogen receptor (ER), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) [67]. To overcome this problem, the medicinally mushroom is widely utilized in modern integrative oncology and given to patients regularly. The clinical results suggested that *T. versicolor* inhibits the human triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) in the in vitro culture and reduced their growth [68] and is used as a supplement in the treatment of breast cancer. The mushroom Inonotus obliquus, often known as Chaga mushroom, belongs to the Agaricomycetes class and is widely used as traditional medicine for cancer therapy in Korea, China, Japan, and Russia [69]. Scientists illustrated that the water extracts of Chaga mushroom have shown cytotoxic and antimitotic activity on HeLa cells. The polysaccharides from *I. obliquus* inhibit the migration of cancer cell lines and shows anti-metastatic activities in vitro. The polysaccharide suppressed the NF-jB, PI3K/AKT and MAPKs signaling pathways by blocking activity and the expression of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP) [70]. The studies confirmed that the Chaga mushroom has Wnt/βcatenin-inhibitory properties due to the presence of one major compound namely inotodiol which suppressed the breast cancer proliferation via the Wnt-dependent signaling pathway in a diabetic rat model [71].

The bioactive compounds present in the *Ganoderma* species are a viable alternative to fight breast cancer. The aqueous extracts of *G. lucidum, G. sinense* and

## *Mushroom; Chemistry, Bioactive Components, and Application DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104182*

*G. tsugae* were widely used against breast cancer cells. The data illustrated that the aqueous extract of these species has anti-proliferative activities against MCF-7 cells and MDA-MB-231 cells. However, the aqueous extract of *G. tsugae* was most effective against MCF-7 cells, although the activity of other Ganoderma species is similar to MDA-MB-231 cells. It also established that the extract did not show any cytotoxic activity against human noncancerous epithelial cells [72]. Several results showed that *G. lucidum* suppressed the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner [64]. The spore powder of *G. lucidum* also exhibited potent cytotoxic effects in the MDA-MB-468, triple-negative breast cancer cell lines, and SUM-102cell line and overexpressing the HER2 gene in MDA-MB435 [73]. *Fomitopsis officinalis* belongs to the family Polyporaceae and is generally known as 'Agarikon.' The fruiting bodies of mushrooms are used as a medicine in Western Europe, North America, and Asian countries for the treatment of gastric cancer, asthma, cough, and pneumonia [74]. Some auspicious evidence illustrated that using fungal extracts can help prevent breast and gastrointestinal cancers. Some studies confirmed antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activity of crude extract of *F. officinalis* in different forms of cancers [75]. In *F. officinalis* extract, Lanostane-type triterpenoids, was reported which showed promising anticancer activity. Scientists showed that the ethanol extracts of *F. officinalis* are more effective in comparison with water extract against human breast cancer (MDAMB-231) cells, colon cancer (HCT-116), lung cancer (A549), mouse sarcoma 180 (S-180) and hepatoma (HepG2) cells [75].

**Figure 4** shows the therapeutic activity of mushrooms and their biomolecules in the treatment of different forms of cancer. The immune system plays a very contributing role in the progression of tumors toward cancer. Mushroom shows its therapeutic activity by targeting the components of the immune system and also modulates the apoptotic processes. **Figure 4** suggests the therapeutic activity of mushrooms by modulating the different components of the immune system and also regulates the apoptotic processes in cancerous cells [76–78].

**Figure 4.**
