Yunnan Bai Yao, Turkey Tails and Splenic Tumours
Yunnan Bai Yao is interesting Chinese herbal formula which, it is said, is carried by the Chinese army for use in gunshot wounds or stab injuries to stem bleeding.
There is research for it's use in supporting patients with spleen haemangiosarcomas (henceforth in this blog they will be known as HSA as it's quicker to type!) - Prof Nick Bacon, of what was previously Fitzpatrick's Oncology and Soft Tissue Centre (which is now called Aura) was involved in some in vitro (ie in test tubes/petri dishes in a lab and NOT in live animals) research on it and it’s effects on HSA cells and found it induced apoptosis in them (i.e they committed cell suicide). So certainly in vitro it has huge potential. The problem is that we don’t know exactly what the formulation is - the company won't say. In addition, there’s loads of counterfeited product out there, so my advice is DO NOT source it online. If you dog has been diagnosed with a spleen tumour and you are considering an integrative approach to treatment then find a herbal vet and let them help your dog by picking appropriate herbs for them to support them in their cancer journey. This may or may not include the use of Yunnan Bai Yao but if they do, you can rest assured that it will come from a reputable source and be what it says it is.
Nick’s research: https://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/research-centre/in-vitro-effects-of-yunnan-baiyao-on-canine-hemangiosarcoma-cell-lines/
We do have some idea of the herbs within the formula, just not ratios, and we know that a herb called 'San Qi' in chinese Pin Yin parlance (latin name Panax notoginseng) is present it in. This has a great haemostatic action (stops bleeding). So if I see a case post surgery that has been diagnosed with a splenic HSA then I usually make a chinese pattern diagnosis, pick the herbal formulation that I feel is most appropriate and then either modify these by adding San Qi to give me some of the benefits of Yunnan Bai Yao without risking using counterfeited product, or use Yunnan Bai Yao from a reputable source to support this patient.
What I would recommend is starting turkey tail mushroom (also known as Coriolus or Trametes versicolour) to support the patients- great for any form of cancer but again we have some research for HSA. It's not the greatest research - 3 groups each of 5 dogs getting different doses, so teeny tiny groups - but it’s something and it’s what makes everyone use it. In the United States even conventional vets are keen on giving Yunnan Bai Yao and turkey tail mushroom to support patients with HSA. I often give my cancer patients a mixed medicinal mushroom mix but for HSA I'm more inclined to go straight for turkey tail. The quality and formulation of the product is really important so please, as always, talk to your herbal vet as to what they recommend or can supply.
Single Agent Polysaccharopeptide Delays Metastases and Improves Survival in Naturally Occurring Hemangiosarcoma
hindawi.com
The other things I’d suggest for any dog diagnosed with a HSA is to put the dog on a fresh food diet - it’s unpublished data currently, but an integrative oncologist in the USA is doing research into HSA and has statistically significant data showing an increased survival in dogs on a fresh food diet post splenectomy. So either home cooked (care with making sure you have the correct nutritional balance - you are likely to need a veterinary nutritionist to help with this), commercial "home cooked' (e.g Butternut Box or Different Dog, or perhaps raw food. Please do ensure you talk to your vet before making any diet changes with your dog, particularly after this sort of diagnosis. Nutritional balance is always key.
There is a ‘liquid biopsy blood test’ that’s out in the United States and Far East which could help us in perhaps diagnosing these guys a little sooner as often these poor dogs (and owners) come in in an emergency collapsed state as these horrid tumours sit silently like ticking time bombs until they rupture. This blood test will come here, but it’s not here yet. It’s not infallible and it’s more to guide or pick things up early as a screening test, with definitive diagnosis still needing to be done in the usual manner, but it looks like it could have its place in us trying to be able to detect these guys a little earlier.
Resources
petdx.com
So! To summarise for those patients with HSA:
Consider giving turkey tail mushrooms (do NOT try and ‘pick your own’! Your herbal vet will be able to advise of a good product and probably supply it too).
Don’t give Yunnan Bai Yao unless your herbal vet has advised it and is sourcing it.
Herbs can be so useful for these guys so please get a consult with an herbal vet to explore your options from a holistic/integrative perspective.
Consider fresh food diet.