News
New randomized controlled trial on mistletoe treatment in breast cancer.
A randomized controlled trial on mistletoe treatment in breast cancer has been conducted. 95 patients, who were treated with chemotherapy (Cyclophosphamid, Adriamycin, 5-Fluoro-Uracil), were allocated by chance into one out of three groups: two groups received Iscador® or Helixor in addition to chemotherapy, the third group received no additional therapy and served as a control group. The results of the patients treated with Iscador® were now analysed and published: Compared to the control group they showed a significantly higher score for quality of life (EORTC-QLQ-C30); in particular, they suffered substantially less from pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, insomnia, appetite loss, diarrhoea, and dyspnoea.
This pilot study was well conducted, its methodological quality meets modern standards of good clinical trials. However, treatment application was not blinded, as mistletoe application is usually unblinded due to its local reaction.
Reference: Tröger W, Jezdic S, Zdrale Z, Tisma N, Hamre HJ, Matijasevic M. Quality of life and neutropenia in patients with early stage breast cancer: A randomized pilot study comparing additional treatment with mistletoe extract to chemotherapy alone. Breast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research 2009; 3:35-45.
Original article can be downloaded as pdf.
An updated systematic review of all clinical studies and preclinical investigations on mistletoe extracts in breast and gynaecological cancers has been published.
Kienle GS, Glockmann A, Schink M, Kiene H. Viscum album L. extracts in breast and gynaecological cancers: a systematic review of clinical and preclinical research. Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research 2009;28:79, DOI:10.1186/1756-9966-28-79. Original article for download as HTML or as pdf.
"Mistletoe in Tumor Therapy 2 - Basic Research and Clinical Practice"
A book on "Mistletoe in Tumor Therapy" has been published. It contains 51 articles on 630 pages that describe the presentations of the 4th Congress on mistletoe research and mistletoe treatment in cancer (2007, Nonnweiler). They present advances in biochemical and biological analyses of mistletoe extracts and their components, results of in vitro and in vivo experiments regarding immunological and cytotoxic properties, and results of clinical studies and clinical observations on efficacy and safety of mistletoe treatment in cancer patients.
Reference: Scheer, R., H. Becker, H. Schilcher, F. H. Kemper, S. Alban, U. Holzgrabe, W. Kreis, H. Matthes (Hrsg.), Die Mistel in der Tumortherapie 2 - Aktueller Stand der Forschung und klinische Anwendung, KVC Verlag, Essen, 2009
Placebo-controlled randomised study in horses with Equine Sarcoid [1, 2]
Equine Sarcoid is a frequent, semi-malignant skin tumor of horses. It is often found multi-focal and often recurs after surgical resection. 53 horses with histologically confirmed equine sarcoid were randomly assigned to subcutaneous mistletoe (Iscador® P) or placebo treatment. Treatment lasted for 105 days and follow-up for one year. In mistletoe treated horses (n=32) 41% (n=13) showed a remission: 28% (n=9) complete remissions and 13% (n=4) partial remissions. Of the placebo treated horses (n=21) 14% showed a tumor remission (n=3), all of them complete. (The difference of remission rates were statistically significant, p=0.039.) The difference between mistletoe and placebo treatment was particularly obvious in horses with a multifocal sarcoid (in 25 and 15 horses with more than two sarcoids treated with mistletoe or placebo 48% and 6% remission were observed, respectively).
References:
[1] Clottu, O., Treatment of Equine Sarcoid with the mistletoe extract Iscador® P (Viscum album austriacus) – a double-blind placebo controlled study. Inaugural-Dissertation, Vetsuisse-Fakultät der Universität Bern, 2008
[2] Klocke P., O. Clottu, J. Spranger, D. Burger, M. Werner, M. Ramos, R. Straub, C. von Tscharner, V. Gerber, Safety and efficacy of mistletoe extract (Viscum album) Iscador® P in the treatment of equine sarcoid – a prospective randomized, controlled double-blind study. Forsch Komplementärmed 14 (suppl 1), 30.
Cochrane Review on Mistletoe Therapy in Oncology.
The Cochrane Library 2008, Issue 2, published a review on mistletoe therapy in cancer disease. This review has a series of limitations. It is neither complete nor updated, the formal evaluation procedure is inadequate, and the factual assessments are not consistent and often incorrect. Appropriate correction of the assessments leads to a different overall picture of the mistletoe trials. Details can be seen in a comprehensive statement.
Statement on Cochrane review for download as pdf 
TV4 attacks Vidarkliniken and mistletoe treatment.
On 15th of November 2007 the Swedish channel TV4 broadly attacked anthroposophic cancer treatment and claimed that the applied mistletoe treatment could increase metastases and decrease survival; the anthroposophic Vidarkliniken was accused to lie to their patients regarding the effectiveness of mistletoe therapy. The program also accused the Swedish government for permitting the use of anthroposophic remedies. An intensive information work was done at Vidarkliniken to correct misleading and wrong statements of this TV presentation. Media, politicians, patients and doctors as well as health care officials were informed.
On 19 November a press conference was held in Stockholm, which included an overview on: Mistletoe in Cancer, State of Evidence: Effectiveness and Safety.
New prospective controlled studies on mistletoe therapy in ovarian cancer (Grossarth & Ziegler 2007)
Short study description
Grossarth-Maticek R, Ziegler R. Prospective controlled cohort studies on long-term therapy of ovarian cancer patients with mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extracts Iscador®. Arzneim -Forsch /Drug Res 2007; 57(10):665-78.
Original article for download as pdf
4th Congress on mistletoe research and mistletoe treatment in cancer.
November 8-10, 2007, Nonnweiler
Details see www.mistelsymposium.de.
Abstracts, published in Phytomedicine, volume 14, supplement 2, can be seen here.
An updated systematic review of all prospective clinical studies on anthroposophic mistletoe therapy in cancer has been published
Kienle GS, Kiene H. Complementary Cancer Therapy: A Systematic Review of Prospective Clinical Trials on Anthroposophic Mistletoe Extracts. Eur J Med Res 2007; 12:103-19.
Original article for download as pdf.
Detailed description see Systematic Reviews
Clinical Study on mistletoe treatment in Cervical Cancer Patients (Grossarth & Ziegler 2007)
The influence of mistletoe treatment on survival, tumour progression and psychosomatic self-regulation in patients with cervical cancer was investigated in the context of the long-term epidemiologic study by Grossarth 2001. Three prospective controlled studies were conducted: one randomised matched-pair study (2 x 19 cervical cancer patients with metastases) and two non-randomised matched-pair studies (2 x 102 patients with and 2 x 66 patients without distant metastases). Regarding survival the two non-randomised studies showed a statistical significant advantage for mistletoe treatment, the randomised study showed a positive trend. Regarding tumour progression no significant difference was found. The course of psychosomatic self-regulation was assessed in two of the studies (the randomised on one non-randomised study): They both showed a statistically significant benefit in the mistletoe group after 12 months. [1, 2].
References
[1] Grossarth-Maticek R, Ziegler R. Prospective Controlled Cohort Studies on Long-Term Therapy of Cervical Cancer Patients with a Mistletoe Preparation (Iscador®®). Forsch Komplementärmed 2007; 14:140-7. Abstract (PubMed)
[2] Free Supplemental Material
Randomized controlled trial investigated reduction of surgical induced suppression of natural killer cell activity in cancer patients by mistletoe extracts
Major surgery can impair the activity of natural killer cells (NK-cells). This is potentially harmful, as NK-cells have an important role in controlling tumour metastases. A randomized controlled trial investigated the influence of a perioperative mistletoe infusion on this surgery-induced NK-cell suppression in colorectal cancer patients undergoing tumour resection. After 24 hours and 7 days a significant decrease of NK-cell activity was observed in control patients, while it was hardly changed in the mistletoe treated patients. The difference between both groups was statistically significant. The sample size of the study was small; the reason is, that a sequential study design was chosen that allows for a permanent analysis of the outcome parameter to be able to stop patient recruitment as soon as one of the comparison groups reaches a statistical significant advantage.
Reference
Schink M, Tröger W, Dabidian A, Goyert A, Scheuerecker H, Meyer J et al. Mistletoe Extract Reduces the Surgical Suppression of Natural Killer Cell Activity in Cancer Patients. A Randomized Phase III Trial. Forsch Komplementärmed 2007; 14(1):9-17. Abstract (PubMed)
On safety and efficacy of mistletoe treatment.
Letter to the editor and comment on the editorial by Edzard Ernst 2006, published in the British Medical Journal, Volume 333, 1282-1283
Cum hoc, ergo propter hoc (letter to the editor)
Comprehensive comment for download (german)