ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2014
Adverse Drug Reactions and Expected Effects to Therapy with Subcutaneous Mistletoe Extracts (Viscum album L.) in Cancer Patients.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic analysis of mistletoe prescriptions in clinical studies.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Cancer-related fatigue in patients treated with mistletoe extracts: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Pooled it
- Mistletoe in oncological treatment: a systematic review : Part 1: survival and safety.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2019Pooled it
- Survival of Cancer Patients Treated with Non-Fermented Mistletoe Extract: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Mistletoe Extract in Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Tial (MISTRAL)Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2024Trial
- Complementary Treatment with Mistletoe Extracts During Chemotherapy: Safety, Neutropenia, Fever, and Quality of Life Assessed in a Randomized Study.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)Trial
- Immediate Postoperative AbnobaVISCUMYonsei medical journal · 2025Article
- Latest Advancements of Natural Products in Combating Ovarian Cancer.Journal of Cancer · 2025Review
- Synergistic Effects of Korean Mistletoe and Apple Peel Extracts on Muscle Strength and Endurance.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Pharmakokinetics of Mistletoe Lectins after Intravenous Application of a Mistletoe Product in Healthy Subjects.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Anti-Inflammatory Activity ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Helixor-M Suppresses Immunostimulatory Activity through TLR4-Dependent NF-κB Pathway in RAW 264.7 Cells.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Phase I Trial of Intravenous Mistletoe Extract in Advanced Cancer.Cancer research communications · 2023Article
- Herb-anticancer drug interactions in real life based on VigiBase, the WHO global database.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Phytotherapy in Integrative Oncology-An Update of Promising Treatment Options.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
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- Anthroposophic Medicine: A Short Monograph and Narrative Review-Foundations, Essential Characteristics, Scientific Basis, Safety, Effectiveness and Misconceptions.Global advances in health and medicine · 2020Article
- Statement to an Insufficient Systematic Review onEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Contributing to Global Health: Development of a Consensus-Based Whole Systems Research Strategy for Anthroposophic Medicine.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background. In Europe, mistletoe extracts are widely used as a complementary cancer therapy. We assessed the safety of subcutaneous mistletoe as a conjunctive therapy in cancer patients within an anthroposophic medicine setting in Germany. Methods. A multicentre, observational study was performed within the Network Oncology. Suspected mistletoe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were described by frequency, causality, severity, and seriousness. Potential risk factors, dose relationships and drug-drug interactions were investigated. Results. Of 1923 cancer patients treated with subcutaneous mistletoe extracts, 283 patients (14.7%) reported 427 expected effects (local reactions <5 cm and increased body temperature <38°C). ADRs were documented in 162 (8.4%) patients who reported a total of 264 events. ADRs were mild (50.8%), moderate (45.1%), or severe (4.2%). All were nonserious. Logistic regression analysis revealed that expected effects were more common in females, while immunoreactivity decreased with increasing age and tumour stage. No risk factors were identified for ADRs. ADR frequency increased as mistletoe dose increased, while fewer ADRs occurred during mistletoe therapy received concurrent with conventional therapies. Conclusion. The results of this study indicate that mistletoe therapy is safe. ADRs were mostly mild to moderate in intensity and appear to be dose-related and explained by the immune-stimulating, pharmacological activity of mistletoe.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.