SynthesisJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology2019
Mistletoe in oncological treatment: a systematic review : Part 1: survival and safety.
Synthesis in Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology, 2019. 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, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic assessment of the influence of quality of studies on mistletoe in cancer care on the results of a meta-analysis on overall survival.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Mistletoe Extracts during the Oncological Perioperative Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Randomized Controlled Trials.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Pooled it
- Systematic analysis of mistletoe prescriptions in clinical studies.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Quality of life in cancer patients treated with mistletoe: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Pooled it
- Phytonutrient Profiles of Mistletoe and Their Values and Potential Applications in Ethnopharmacology and Nutraceuticals: A Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Immediate Postoperative AbnobaVISCUMYonsei medical journal · 2025Article
- Article
- Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of aPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Component Composition and Features of Biological Activity of Viscum album (Viscaceae).Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections · 2024Review
- Traditional Uses, Phytochemical Constituents and Ethnopharmacological Properties of Mistletoe from Phoradendron and Viscum Species.Combinatorial chemistry & high throughput screening · 2024Review
- Clinical characteristics and therapeutic behavior of breast cancer patients using mistletoe therapy consulting a clinic offering integrative oncology: a registry data analysis.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Article
- Article
- Phase I Trial of Intravenous Mistletoe Extract in Advanced Cancer.Cancer research communications · 2023Article
- Pediatric oncologists' perspectives on the use of complementary medicine in pediatric cancer patients in Switzerland: A national survey-based cross-sectional study.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Biotechnological Potential of Different Organs of Mistletoe (Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Herb-anticancer drug interactions in real life based on VigiBase, the WHO global database.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- RomanianPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A pilot study of the mistletoe and breast cancer (MAB) trial: a protocol for a randomised double-blind controlled trial.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2022Article
- Additional treatment with mistletoe extracts for patients with breast cancer compared to conventional cancer therapy alone - efficacy and safety, costs and cost-effectiveness, patients and social aspects, and ethical assessment.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2022Review
- Complementary Medicine in the Treatment of Cancer Patients.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeMistletoe treatment of cancer patients is discussed highly controversial in the scientific literature. Aim of this systematic review is to give an extensive overview about current state of research concerning mistletoe therapy of oncologic patients regarding survival, quality of life and safety.
methodsIn September and October 2017 Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, CINAHL and "Science Citation Index Expanded" (Web of Science) were systematically searched.
resultsThe search strategy identified 3647 hits and 28 publications with 2639 patients were finally included in this review. Mistletoe was used in bladder cancer, breast cancer, other gynecological cancers (cervical cancer, corpus uteri cancer, and ovarian cancer), colorectal cancer, other gastrointestinal cancer (gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer), glioma, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, melanoma and osteosarcoma. In nearly all studies, mistletoe was added to a conventional therapy. Patient relevant endpoints were overall survival (14 studies, n = 1054), progression- or disease-free survival or tumor response (10 studies, n = 1091). Most studies did not show any effect of mistletoe on survival. Especially high quality studies do not show any benefit.
conclusionsWith respect to survival, a thorough review of the literature does not provide any indication to prescribe mistletoe to patients with cancer.
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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.