Viscum album L. extracts in breast and gynaecological cancers: a systematic review of clinical and preclinical research

Kienle, Gunver S.; Glockmann, Anja; Schink, Michael; Kiene, Helmut

doi:10.1186/1756-9966-28-79

Cited by 123 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…A survey on patients' perception of health status carried out on women with breast and gynecologic malignancies showed that CAM use (and MT corresponded to 77% of it) is associated with a better coping with the disease. 26 The statistically significant decrease in fatigue during MT detected in our study by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire supports results from previous studies that included breast cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy 5 and corroborates the higher vitality of the patients mentioned during the second interview. Furthermore, a decrease of cancer-related fatigue associated with MT was shown in a case report.…”

Section: Progression Of Qol During the 3 Months Of Mtsupporting

confidence: 89%

An Exploratory Study on the Quality of Life and Individual Coping of Cancer Patients During Mistletoe Therapy

Brandenberger¹,

Simões-Wüst²,

Rostock

et al. 2011

Integr Cancer Ther

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Background. Although several clinical studies have shown that mistletoe therapy (MT, Viscum album) may improve cancer patients' quality-of-life (QoL), qualitative information on the improvement's nature is still lacking. Design. This exploratory, prospective, cohort-study comprised 25 patients with different types of cancer. The patients filled in the EORTC QLQ-C30 Version 3.0 questionnaire at the beginning of MT (n = 25) and three months later (n = 21). If patients agreed, they were interviewed on both occasions (n = 17); the interviews were transcribed verbatim and submitted to a qualitative content analysis (n = 12). Results. Analysis of the questionnaires showed significant improvements in several subscales during MT. The interviews analysis revealed that most patients adopted the MT with a supportive goal, with all patients undergoing conventional therapies. After three months of MT, most interviewed patients revealed higher vitality and autonomy. MT was often seen as a chance to make an own personal contribution to the therapy, which was particularly appreciated in cases in which no conventional therapy was (anymore) advised. Concrete personal achievements such as changes in the private and/ or in the professional environment were spontaneously mentioned by the patients, illustrating and corroborating their improvements in QoL. Conclusion. Our results show that the patients experienced an improvement of QoL during MT. This therapy seemed to offer a platform for an integrative coping with the disease, which might be important in reconciling the perceived shock of an existential illness with a good QoL.

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Section: Progression Of Qol During the 3 Months Of Mtsupporting

confidence: 89%

An Exploratory Study on the Quality of Life and Individual Coping of Cancer Patients During Mistletoe Therapy

Brandenberger¹,

Simões-Wüst²,

Rostock

et al. 2011

Integr Cancer Ther

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“…Darüber hinaus wurden 1693 diesbezüglich erfahrene Ärzte zur Sicherheit injizierbarer AM-Präparate befragt, nur selten waren Nebenwirkungen beobachtet worden [1,67]. Im Kontext der klinischen Studien wurde in der Regel das Auftreten von UAW erhoben [1,14,15]. Hier zeigten sich gelegentlich milde und selbstlimitierte UAW.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Klinische Forschung zur Anthroposophischen Medizin – Update eines «Health Technology Assessment»-Berichts und Status Quo

Kienle¹,

Glockmann²,

Grugel³

et al. 2011

Complement Med Res

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Hintergrund und Fragestellung: 2005 wurde ein «Health Technology Assessment»(HTA)-Bericht zu Wirksamkeit, Sicherheit, Wirtschaftlichkeit und Bedarf der Anthroposophischen Medizin (AM) erstellt. Im Kontext des «Schweizer Volksvotums pro Komplementärmedizin» (Mai 2009) erfolgte ein Update des HTA-Berichts. Design: Update des HTA-Berichts durch eine systematische Übersichtsarbeit. Methoden: Das Update wurde in Anlehnung an den bereits vorhandenen HTA-Bericht sowie entsprechend den Vorgaben des Schweizer Bundesamtes für Gesundheit durchgeführt. Nach klinischen Studien wurde systematisch in vier Datenbanken, in einer spezialisierten Zeitschrift und mit Hilfe umfassender Expertenkontakte gesucht. Studien wurden nach vorab definierten Kriterien ausgewählt, die Daten extrahiert und die Qualität individuell überprüft. Ergebnisse: 70 neue klinische Studien zur Wirksamkeit wurden gefunden. Damit liegen derzeit insgesamt 265 klinische Studien zur AM vor: 38 randomisierte Studien, 36 prospektive und 49 retrospektive, nichtrandomisierte, vergleichende Studien sowie 90 prospektive und 52 retrospektive Studien ohne Kontrollgruppe. Die Studien untersuchten ein weites Spektrum an AM-Therapien bei einer Vielzahl von Erkrankungen; das Gesamtsystem der AM untersuchten 38 Studien, in 10 Studien ging es um nichtpharmakologische Therapien, 133 befassten sich mit Misteltherapie bei Krebs und 84 untersuchten sonstige AM-Arzneitherapien. Die Studien zeigten in der Mehrzahl ein positives Ergebnis für AM. Die methodische Qualität der Studien variierte sehr; einige wiesen erhebliche Schwächen auf, andere waren sorgfältig durchgeführt. Die Praxisrelevanz war überwiegend hoch. Bei Beschränkung auf die qualitativ besseren Studien ergab sich ein positives Ergebnis für die AM. Nebenwirkungen und Risiken waren selten und im Schweregrad meist mild oder mäßig. Studien zur Sicherheit zeigten eine insgesamt gute Verträglichkeit. Schlussfolgerung: Studien unterschiedlichen Designs und unterschiedlicher Qualität beschreiben bei einer Vielzahl von Erkrankungen ein für die AM medizinisch gutes und für die Patienten zufriedenstellendes, sicheres und vermutlich auch kostengünstiges Behandlungsergebnis. Weiterführende qualitativ hochwertige Evaluationen sind wünschenswert.

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“…In a comparable retrospective study design in pancreatic cancer patients, similar clinical outcomes were observed with fewer adverse events and improved survival in patients treated with mistletoe [33]. Despite compelling preclinical data and these isolated reports of clinical benefit of mistletoe preparations, recent reviews of clinical trials still note methodological weaknesses of current published studies on mistletoe [34] as well as conflicting results on tumor response and survival prolongation on treatment using various mistletoe preparations [35][36][37][38]. A number of recently published studies confirm this mixed picture [39][40][41][42].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

NCCAM/NCI phase 1 study of mistletoe extract and Gemcitabine in patients with advanced solid tumors

et al. 2011

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properly cited.Purpose. European Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extracts (mistletoe) are commonly used for cancer treatment in Europe. This phase I study of gemcitabine (GEM) and mistletoe in advanced solid cancers (ASC) evaluated: (1) safety, toxicity, and maximum tolerated dose (MTD), (2) absolute neutrophil count (ANC) recovery, (3) formation of mistletoe lectin antibodies (ML ab), (4) cytokine plasma concentrations, (5) clinical response, and (6) pharmacokinetics of GEM. Methods. Design: increasing mistletoe and fixed GEM dose in stage I and increasing doses of GEM with a fixed dose of mistletoe in stage II. Dose limiting toxicities (DLT) were grade (G) 3 nonhematologic and G4 hematologic events; MTD was reached with 2 DLTs in one dosage level. Response in stage IV ASC was assessed with descriptive statistics. Statistical analyses examined clinical response/survival and ANC recovery. Results. DLTs were G4 neutropenia, G4 thrombocytopenia, G4 acute renal failure, and G3 cellulitis, attributed to mistletoe. GEM 1380 mg/m 2 and mistletoe 250 mg combined were the MTD. Of 44 patients, 24 developed nonneutropenic fever and flu-like syndrome. GEM pharmacokinetics were unaffected by mistletoe. All patients developed ML3 IgG antibodies. ANC showed a trend to increase between baseline and cycle 2 in stage I dose escalation. 6% of patients showed partial response, 42% stable disease. Median survival was 200 days. Compliance with mistletoe injections was high. Conclusion. GEM plus mistletoe is well tolerated. No botanical/drug interactions were observed. Clinical response is similar to GEM alone.

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Viscum album L. extracts in breast and gynaecological cancers: a systematic review of clinical and preclinical research

Abstract: Background: Viscum album L. extracts (VAE, European mistletoe) are a widely used medicinal plant extract in gynaecological and breast-cancer treatment.

Cited by 123 publications

References 85 publications

An Exploratory Study on the Quality of Life and Individual Coping of Cancer Patients During Mistletoe Therapy

An Exploratory Study on the Quality of Life and Individual Coping of Cancer Patients During Mistletoe Therapy

Klinische Forschung zur Anthroposophischen Medizin – Update eines «Health Technology Assessment»-Berichts und Status Quo

NCCAM/NCI phase 1 study of mistletoe extract and Gemcitabine in patients with advanced solid tumors

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