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The key to the effectiveness of mushrooms is a substance called beta glucan, a large and complex polysaccharide (sugar chain) known to be an effective antitumor agent. One of the first clinical experiments with beta glucan took place in 1975. Dr Peter Mansell of the National Cancer Institute tested beta glucan as a treatment for malignant melanoma, one of the most dangerous forms of cancer known. He injected beta glucan into the melanoma nodules and noted with satisfaction that they were "strikingly reduced in as short a period as five days" and in some instances "resolution was complete".