5 replies to this topic

[Karinne]

Hi everyone,

as you can see in my signature, I had a scary moment, last year, when my pcr went from 0.00046 to 0.006 in 6 months and 0.0024, another 3 months later.

Even if I was not passed "safe heaven" (0.1%), the bad trend was dangerous. I checked every thing that have changed in the past 6 months and I realized that I was taking Cranberry extract (to prevent UTIs) for 7 months. I stopped the cranberry immediately and my pcr went back down in the next months, to less than MR4.5 in 8 months.

Afterward, I found articles that mentioned cranberry and Warfarin and also cranberry extract and Tacrolimus interactions.

Two messages to take home:

1) it is better to avoid cranberry extract with TKIs, but I think that cranberries are okay.

2) think twice before adding any diet supplements even if they look as innocuous than cranberry.

Thank you.

[gerry]

I do take supplements took them prior to taking Gleevec, while on Gleevec and continue to take them now I have been treatment free for almost 4 years.
I agree that you need to do your research on what supplements you take. :-)

Had a look at info on cranberry juice - one of the "good" properties is
. Chelation - Proanthocyanidins have a strong iron chelating capability, meaning that cranberry's antioxidants binds to toxic drugs and metals making it easier for the liver to remove.

But that isn't necessarily a good thing to have your TKI passed out of your body too quickly.

[ROMO]

Karinne,

 

As one new member to another...

 

I hope cranberries are not on the 'Do not do list'.

I love those little buggers. Every year we go to the cranberry

boggs on the Washington coast and enjoy the festivals.

Have you ever had cranberry and chocolate?

You will love your mouth so much you will never cuss again.

 

Ocean Spray the cranberry people own alot of that place.

You drive in squared elevated roads and see houses perched up in

the middle of cranberry boggs. People live in those hoses and own the

bogg. The boggs floods when the owner opens the flood gate. They

harvest the cranberries by banging on the water and the cranberries float

to the surface and are scooped up. A kind of farm sounded by pools of

cranberries.

 

But I think this has to do with how the liver produces enzymes

in highly acidic environments. That Sprycel needs the liver to absorb

it's molecules it needs the liver to be unencumbered  with other

distractions.  Our liver is our friend and partner.

I've named my liver, Liver McLoveit. He's doing such a good job.

 

By the way your numbers look really good.

Hoping you reach PCRU next test.

 

Romo

[Lucas]

Funny thing is that cranberries are a CYP3A4 inhibitor, so you should had more drug in your system, and not less.

[gerry]

They think cranberry juice may interact with warfarin as it affects CYP450 enzyme http://www.pharmacis...ients-need-know

[Karinne]

I found this article about cranberry extract and Tacrolimus. Tacrolimus like TKIs is a substrate of CYP3A4. And in this story, cranberry extract decreased the concentration of the drug.
http://assets.cureus...499-1ms40ts.pdf

Lucas, I think that the story with CYP3A4 inhibitor is complicated: you have intestinal CYP and liver CYP. The first one helps the absorption of drugs and the second helps the degradation. They have opposite effects. Even for grapefruit they say that it could increase or decrease the drug concentration.