Mistletoe therapy is a natural healing method or a method of phytotherapy that goes back to the founder of anthroposophy (Greek anthropos. Man; sophia: wisdom; special spiritual worldview) Rudolf Steiner goes back. He introduced mistletoe preparations as cancer therapeutics. Today mistletoe therapy is used primarily in complementary oncology (accompanying, alternative cancer treatment) as an immune stimulant. Mistletoe (lat. viscum album) has been widely used in medicine since Hippocrates, e.g. against epilepsy, for ulcers, as a fertility treatment (fertility treatment) and very often for cramp-like conditions (epilepsy). Today, anthroposophic treatment with mistletoe preparations must be distinguished from phytotherapeutic use in conventional medicine. Anthroposophic mistletoe extracts, for example, are used depending on the host plant or tree.
Indications (areas of application)
- Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer)
- Urinary bladder carcinoma (bladder cancer)
- Mammary carcinoma (breast cancer)
- Gastric carcinoma (stomach cancer)
- Malignant melanoma (black skin cancer)
- Malignant ascites – abdominal fluid (ascites) due to tumor disease.
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
- Laryngeal carcinoma (cancer of the larynx)
- Colon carcinoma/colorectal carcinoma – cancer of the colon and rectum.
- Ovarian carcinoma (ovarian cancer)
- Pancreatic carcinoma (pancreatic cancer)
- Prostate carcinoma (prostate cancer)
- Pleural carcinomatosis (local) – involvement of the pleura with metastases of a malignant tumor.
- Cervical carcinoma (cervical cancer).
Contraindications
- Fever
- Inflammation
- Autoimmune diseases
- Hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients
The procedure
The extracts of mistletoe are obtained mainly from the leaves and not from the berries. The preparations are made from pressed juices, aqueous cold extracts, aqueous liquid extracts or from lactofermented extracts. The total extract of mistletoe consists of more than 600 different proteins, many enzymes, various viscotoxins, thiols, triterpenes, flavonoids, fats, as well as phosphorus and potassium. The most important active ingredient is sugar-containing proteins (albumen), the so-called mistletoe lectins. Mistletoe lectin 1 (ML-1) is considered to be particularly effective. ML-1 has an immunomodulatory effect and thus stimulates the body’s own defenses. The stimulating effect of mistletoe extract results in the release of cytokines, interferons and tumor necrosis factor (mediators of the immunological response). In addition, there is an increased maturation of lymphocytes (defense cells). Furthermore, the secretion of endorphins (endogenous morphins – endogenous substances that act as neuropeptides to control the sensation of pain and the development of euphoria) increases. Besides lectins, viscotoxins are the second most important mistletoe-typical ingredient. They are proteinaceous compounds similar in chemical structure to snake venoms. The viscotoxins have a cytotoxic (“acting as a cell poison”)/cytolytic (“dissolving cells”) effect. Furthermore, they stimulate the activity of T lymphocytes (defense cells of the immune system and part of the adaptive (acquired) immune response; T stands for thymus) and granulocytes (most common type of cell in the leukocyte/white blood cell group). The main modes of action of mistletoe preparations are:
- Apoptosis – Programmed cell death. Apoptosis refers to the demise of cells (cell death) triggered by genetic information in the cell itself. The lectins contained in mistletoe affect amino acid synthesis (protein metabolism), causing the onset of cell apoptosis, both in healthy cells and cancer cells. Since cancer cells proliferate more and are therefore present in large numbers, apoptosis can contribute to the reduction of cancer cells.
- Immunomodulation – Substances such as lectins, viscotoxins and polysaccharides, have a positive effect on the body’s immune response. As a result of mistletoe injection, increased defense substances such as cytokines, as well as defense cells (T-helper cells, cytotoxic T-cells (killer cells), and B-lymphocytes or plasma cells) and phagocytes (macrophages) are formed, which leads to a strengthening of the body’s immune defenses.
- DNA-stabilizing effect – Chemotherapy often causes damage that can sometimes be prevented by mistletoe treatment. The therapy has a protective effect on the DNA.
Other effects of mistletoe preparations are:
- Reduction of nausea (nausea) and vomiting.
- Reduction in the number of clinically prominent infections.
- Reducing the risk of mucositis (inflammation of the oral mucosa).
- Improve quality of life (fatigue, emotional well-being and concentration).
- Inhibitory effect on metastasis.
- Protection against the side effects of aggressive chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
- Relief from pain, anxiety and depression – through the action of endorphins.
- Direct damage to tumor cells at high doses.
- Beneficial effects on survival
Individual treatment depends on the type and severity of the disease. First, the tolerance of mistletoe preparations is tested in an introductory phase. The duration of therapy is usually two months, followed by a 4-8 week break. The therapy is then repeated. The preparation is injected subcutaneously (under the skin). Possible side effects
- Excessive local reactions at the injection site.
- Flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills.
- Gastrointestinal discomfort (gastrointestinal discomfort; mild).
- Headache
Only 0.8% of treated patients complain of side effects. Further notes
- In a systematic review, 28 studies involving 2. 639 patients who had urinary bladder cancer (bladder cancer), breast carcinoma (breast cancer) or other gynecologic malignancies, colorectal carcinoma (cancer of the colon (intestine) and rectum (rectum)), other malignant (malignant) gastrointestinal tumors, bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer), melanoma, glioma, cancer of the head and neck, or osteosarcoma were analyzed. Mistletoe therapy showed no beneficial effect in terms of overall, progression, or disease-free survival in most studies. Nor did mistletoe treatment show any effect on quality of life or side effects of oncologic therapy:The authors pointed out that studies with more favorable outcomes occurred only in trials that often had small numbers of participants or were non-blinded studies.
Benefit
Mistletoe therapy is a recognized procedure in complementary cancer therapy, used as an adjunctive treatment in a variety of cancer conditions for the benefit of patients. It improves the patient’s overall health and quality of life.
