Mistletoe extract is often used to support cancer therapy and improve quality of life, but there is still a lack of scientific evidence of its effectiveness. A study from the USA now provides evidence that mistletoe extract injected into the vein could actually help.
Twenty-one people with advanced and various treatment-resistant cancers were given mistletoe extract intravenously three times a week. The amount was gradually increased in order to determine the optimal dose that has the best possible effect with as few side effects as possible. According to the results, this was 600 milligrams. The trial continued until the cancer either progressed or serious side effects emerged. This was the case after an average of 15.3 weeks.
In five patients, the disease stabilized for 15 weeks. In three people, the disease resolved and remained stable for two to five months, although the improvements were not enough to be officially classified as an relieving disease. Overall, the quality of life of the patients improved. The most common side effects were fatigue, nausea and chills. However, they were rated as tolerable by the participants, the organizers of the study report in the journal “Cancer Research Communications”.
“In this group of patients who had already received multiple cancer therapies, mistletoe extract given intravenously showed manageable side effects with disease control and improved quality of life,” said oncologist Prof. Dr. Channing Paller of Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The next step is to test the extract in combination with chemotherapy.
First clinical study with mistletoe extract
Clinical studies in which drug effects are tested are carried out in several stages. This was a phase I study with a limited number of participants, which was intended to clarify which dose is optimal for treatment with intravenous mistletoe extract and whether there are common side effects. Only when an active substance has been proven to be safe are there studies in phases II and III, in which the effectiveness and rarer side effects are recorded more precisely in a larger number of participants.
Mistletoe extract contains several active ingredients that have been shown in laboratory studies to cause tumor cell death and stimulate an immune response. It has been used for several decades as a complementary medicine approach to cancer treatment, alone or in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but has not been tested in clinical trials.
Which: DOI 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-23-0002