Mistletoe extract is widely used in German clinics that specialize in the complementary approach to cancer. But there is far less enthusiasm for this treatment in the English-speaking world, especially among skeptical oncologists. Now mistletoe has been found to be reasonably effective in extending survival, according to a German meta-analysis published last December. While not definitive, it strongly suggests that mistletoe is a beneficial adjunct in cancer therapy.

The paper's three authors are at the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke (Ostermann 2009). They identified a total of 49 studies on the effects of the mistletoe drug Iscador on survival. Among these, 41 had enough data to extract meaningful information on survival. The majority of studies showed positive effects, although it is possible that negative studies failed to get published (the so-called publication bias). "One cannot ignore the fact that studies with positive effects of [mistletoe] on survival of cancer patients are accumulating," the authors wrote.

Iscador is an extract of the white berries of the mistletoe plant (Viscum album), an unusual evergreen plant that grows as a kind of parasite in trees across Europe. Globular mistletoe is a familiar sight in Germany, especially in the winter when it stands out in the bare branches of various deciduous trees. Mistletoe has a fascinating history. According to Roman authors, mistletoe was used as a medicine by Celtic priests, who gathered it using golden scythes (to avoid contaminating the specimens). Much later, it was introduced as a cancer treatment by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), the founder of Anthroposophical Medicine (Steiner 1985).

Steiner recommended making a drug extract from mistletoe plants harvested in both the winter and the summer (Steiner 1989). Based on his recommendations, Ita Wegman and other Anthroposophical doctors treated their patients with mistletoe extracts but there have been few rigorous studies on the effects. This study from Witten/Herdecke is a major contribution in assessing the actual benefit of this unusual treatment.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

Resources:

Ostermann T, Raak C, Büssing A. Survival of cancer patients treated with mistletoe extract (Iscador): a systematic literature review. BMC Cancer. 2009;9:451.

Steiner R. Geisteswissenschaft und Medizin. Dornach: Rudolf Steiner Verlag; 1985.

Steiner R. Physiologisch-therapeutisches auf Grundlage der Geisteswissenschaft. Dornach: Rudolf Steiner Verlag; 1989. Besprechungen mit praktizierenden Ärzten; pp. 285-301.

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