SynthesisSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2022
Cancer-related fatigue in patients treated with mistletoe extracts: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 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
- Systematic analysis of mistletoe prescriptions in clinical studies.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Mistletoe Extracts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Clinical research on homeopathic preparations: protocol template for a series of systematic reviews.Systematic reviews · 2026Article
- [Palliative medicine and integrative medicine as complementary approaches in uro-oncological care].Urologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Reasons for encounter and recommended interventions in an interprofessional integrative oncology counseling program in outpatient care: a mixed-methods analysis of 1,693 consultation letters.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Systems approach to integrative oncology in breast cancer care: service design, delivery and patient experiences from a UK center.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Mistletoe in Cancer Cell Biology: Recent Advances.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- [Complementary and integrative medicine in cancer-related fatigue].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024Review
- [Rehabilitative strategies in cancer-related fatigue].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024Review
- A Qualitative Analysis of Cancer Patients' Perceptions of an Interprofessional Counseling Service on Complementary and Integrative Healthcare.Qualitative health research · 2024Article
- Article
- Pharmakokinetics of Mistletoe Lectins after Intravenous Application of a Mistletoe Product in Healthy Subjects.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- 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
- Phase I Trial of Intravenous Mistletoe Extract in Advanced Cancer.Cancer research communications · 2023Article
- Management of Fatigue in Patients with Advanced Cancer.Current treatment options in oncology · 2023Review
- The Introspective Patient Experience of Mistletoe Therapy in Cancer: A Qualitative Study.Integrative cancer therapiesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeCancer-related fatigue remains one of the most prevalent and distressing symptoms experienced by cancer patients. Effective treatments for cancer-related fatigue are needed. The objective of this meta-analysis is to determine the impact of mistletoe extracts as a pharmacological treatment for the management of cancer-related fatigue.
methodsWe included randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) in cancer patients. Inclusion criteria were cancer-related fatigue severity or prevalence as an outcome and testing of mistletoe extracts compared to control groups. We searched Medline (EuropePMC), Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinicaltrials.gov, and opengrey.org through October 2020. We assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tools for RCTs and NRSIs and conducted a meta-analysis.
resultsWe performed one meta-analysis with 12 RCTs, including 1494 participants, and one meta-analysis with seven retrospective NRSIs, including 2668 participants. Heterogeneity between the studies was high in both meta-analyses. Most studies had a high risk of bias. A random-effects model showed for RCTs a standardized mean difference of -0.48 (95% confidence interval -0.82 to -0.14; p = 0.006) and for NRSIs an odds ratio of 0.36 (95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.66; p = 0.0008).
conclusionTreatment with mistletoe extracts shows a moderate effect on cancer-related fatigue of similar size to physical activity. These results need to be confirmed by more placebo-controlled trials. Future trials should investigate different treatment durations and their effect on cancer-related fatigue in post-treatment cancer survivors.
trial registrationThis meta-analysis has been registered under the PROSPERO registration number CRD42020191967 on October 7, 2020.
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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.