When was mistletoe first used to treat cancer?
Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner first recommended mistletoe extract as a potential cancer treatment in 1920, but Dutch physician Ita Wegman was the first to use it in a person with cancer ( 3 ). Oral preparations of mistletoe are available as dietary supplements.
Can mistletoe extract from Viscum album be used to treat cancer?
Background In Europe, extracts from Viscum album (VA-E), the European white-berry mistletoe, are widely used to treat patients with cancer. Methods We searched several databases such as Cochrane, EMBASE, NCCAM, NLM, DIMDI, CAMbase, and Medline.
Can naturopathic oncologists offer mistletoe therapy for cancer?
Although traditional oncologists cannot currently offer Mistletoe therapy to cancer patients, Naturopathic Oncology practitioners, including The Riordan Clinic’s providers, can administer this form of cancer care. Q: What can I expect during treatment? A: Mistletoe is administered via injection or IV drip.
Is mistletoe effective in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer?
Bar-Sela G, Wollner M, Hammer L, et al.: Mistletoe as complementary treatment in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer treated with carboplatin-based combinations: a randomised phase II study. Eur J Cancer 49 (5): 1058-64, 2013.
Is mistletoe therapy FDA approved?
Is mistletoe extract approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a cancer treatment in the United States? The FDA has not approved the use of mistletoe extract as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition.
Does mistletoe help with cancer?
Basic research shows that mistletoe extracts may stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. Studies in humans show that mistletoe treatment may improve symptoms and reduce side effects of cancer treatments.
Can mistletoe shrink tumors?
Naturopathic healers have used European mistletoe to shrink tumors and treat cancer for years.
What does mistletoe do for cancer patients?
Mistletoe treatment (MT) is an essential part of integrative cancer care [1–5]. It is mostly used to improve quality of life (QoL), increase the tolerability of chemotherapy, and exert a possible benefit on tumor control and survival.
Can mistletoe help breast cancer?
As an anthroposophical medicine, mistletoe is one of the most important herbal drugs and is potentially effective against cancer [18]. Using mistletoe extract for cancer therapy especially breast cancer is recommended due to its minimal side effects and the fact that these side effects are not life threatening.
Is mistletoe hard on the liver?
Liver disease: There is some concern that taking European mistletoe might harm the liver. In theory, European mistletoe might make liver diseases, such as hepatitis, worse. People with liver disease or a history of liver disease should avoid European mistletoe.
Where do you inject mistletoe?
The easiest way is to inject the mistletoe extract alternately into one of the skin fields, where there is usually enough subcutaneous fatty tissue. The thigh is the preferred place for very slim people. However, you should not inject into the same place, because this can irritate the skin too much.
How does mistletoe therapy work?
Proponents claim that mistletoe extracts stimulate the immune system, improve survival, enhance quality of life and reduce adverse effects of chemo- and radiotherapy in cancer patients.
Does mistletoe have any medicinal properties?
Health benefits that have been attributed to mistletoe include improving cardiovascular health, relieving stress and anxiety, and boosting the immune system to help fight off colds and respiratory problems. It is also a popular complementary therapy for cancer treatment in many parts of the world.
How did Suzanne Somers cure her cancer?
Somers did undergo radiation therapy but declined chemotherapy. She instead opted to use Iscador, an extract made from European mistletoe. While some studies have indicated that treatment with this extract can lead to improved survival , it still lacks federal approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) .
Can iscador cure cancer?
Iscador does not claim to be a curative treatment in its own right and is not intended to be an alternative to conventional medicine. It can be given alongside other anti-cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Iscador treatment is very safe and generally does not cause side effects.
How are mistletoe extracts prepared?
How the extracts are prepared. The commercial producer. Mistletoe extracts are prepared as aqueous solutions or solutions of water and alcohol, and they can be fermented or unfermented. [ 4, 6, 22, 52, 53, 56 - 59] Some extracts are prepared according to homeopathic principles, and others are not.
Where is mistletoe used?
Mistletoe is a semiparasitic plant that has been used for centuries to treat numerous human ailments. Mistletoe is used commonly in Europe, where a variety of different extracts are manufactured and marketed as injectable prescription drugs. These injectable drugs are not available commercially in the United States and are not approved as ...
How many trials of Isorel have been published?
Only two trials of Isorel have been reported in the publicly available, online indexed peer-reviewed medical literature. In one study, 64 patients with advanced colorectal cancer (Dukes C and D) were randomly assigned to one of the following three groups: [ 37]
What type of tree does mistletoe grow on?
Mistletoe grows on several types of trees, and the chemical composition of extracts derived from it depends on the following: [ 8, 43, 52 - 55] Species of the host tree (e.g., apple, elm, oak, pine, poplar, and spruce). Time of year harvested. How the extracts are prepared.
What is mistletoe summary?
This cancer information summary provides an overview of the use of mistletoe as a treatment for people with cancer. The summary includes a brief history of mistletoe research, the results of clinical trials, and possible side effects of mistletoe use.
What is PDQ cancer?
This PDQ cancer information summary for health professionals provides comprehensive, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information about the use of mistletoe extracts in the treatment of people with cancer. It is intended as a resource to inform and assist clinicians who care for cancer patients. It does not provide formal guidelines or recommendations for making health care decisions.
How old is mistletoe?
The use of mistletoe in the treatment of cancer is about 100 years old, and its use in the treatment of other indications is much older. Modern interest in mistletoe as an anticancer treatment began in the 1920s. Most of the results of clinical studies have been published exclusively in German.
What is mistletoe?
European mistletoe ( Viscum album L.) is a medicinal plant that has been used as a treatment for cancer for more than a century ( 1 ).
Why is mistletoe used to treat cancer?
Mistletoe contains several compounds that may have therapeutic potential, including lectins, viscotoxins, flavonoids, oligo- and polysaccharides, membrane lipids, alkaloids, and more ( 2 ).
Is it effective?
Unlike many other complementary cancer treatments, mistletoe extract has been studied extensively in humans. In fact, more than 50 clinical trials have looked at the effects of mistletoe extract in people with cancer ( 5 ).
Precautions and side effects
In general, side effects related to mistletoe extracts reported in clinical studies have been minimal and non-life-threatening ( 5 ).
The bottom line
Mistletoe extract is among the most widely studied complementary and alternative cancer therapies and is commonly prescribed to people with cancer in some European countries.
How often is mistletoe given?
Some people experience a temporary rise in body temperature and fatigue. Treatment is typically given three times each week. The first mistletoe injection is done onsite at The Riordan Clinic to demonstrate safe and proper injection technique and observe patients for any allergic reaction. Allergic reaction to subcutaneous Mistletoe is extremely ...
How is mistletoe administered?
A: Mistletoe is administered via injection or IV drip. Most commonly, it is injected under the skin on the abdomen. Patients tend to tolerate the treatment very well, but some will experience minor side-effects such as localized inflammation at the injection site that may cause swelling, redness, tenderness and itching.
What is mistletoe used for?
Mistletoe Therapy may be used with malignant and non-malignant tumors for stimulation of bone marrow activity.
Can mistletoe be used for hyperthyroidism?
A: Mistletoe therapy is not recommended for anyone with an allergy to Mistletoe, or anyone with acute inflammatory disease, autoimmune disease, high fever, pregnancy, Myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, or uncontrolled hyperthyroidism.
Can mistletoe be used for cancer?
A: Mistletoe therapy is indicated for all sites and histological cancer types and may be used for all stages. It can be administered at any point throughout the course of cancer and used as after-cancer prophylaxis for relapse or secondary cancer.
Does mistletoe help with nausea?
A: Yes. Mistletoe can help alleviate some of the common side-effects of radiation and chemotherapy, such as fatigue, nausea, and difficulty sleeping. Read the previously-detailed list of benefits of Mistletoe Therapy.
Is mistletoe a biologic?
A: Despite Mistletoe’s long track record of clinical use in Europe and several Asian countries, the FDA still categorizes it as an unproven biologi c therapy. Therefore, it has yet to be fully adopted by Western medicine. However, in 2016 Mistletoe was approved for an extensive study at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. A large cohort of cancer patients enrolled and were given Mistletoe alongside conventional treatments. The published results of this study will likely bring awareness and acceptance of the benefits of Mistletoe and its broad application across the field of oncology.
When was mistletoe first used?
In 1920 , mistletoe extracts were introduced for the first time as a cancer treatment by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) [4], founder of anthroposophy. He recommended a drug extract produced in a complicated manufacturing process combining sap from mistletoe harvested in the winter and summer [5].
Does mistletoe extract cause apoptosis?
Recent scientific research has confirmed the folklore with evidence that mistletoe extracts (1) induce apoptosis, (2) stimulate immunocompetent cells, and (3) protect the DNA of mononuclear cells (for review see [7,8]).
Mistletoe Extract: Cancer Therapy?
Cancer is a scary diagnosis. There’s no doubt about that. Treatment is not just about removing the tumor and providing chemotherapy (although those are important aspects of healing cancer patients) – it’s about the whole patient. As an integrative oncologist, I emphasize treating the person and not just cancer.
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Overview
Mistletoe is a semiparasitic plant that grows on several types of trees such as apple, oak, pine, and elm (see Question 1 ).
Questions and Answers About Mistletoe
What is mistletoe? Mistletoe is a semiparasitic plant that grows on trees, such as apple, oak, maple, elm, pine, and birch. It has been used for hundreds of years to treat medical conditions such as epilepsy, hypertension, headaches, menopausal symptoms, infertility, arthritis, and rheumatism.
Current Clinical Trials
Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
