Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38915151›Full record

Trial reportDeutsches Arzteblatt international2024

Mistletoe Extract in Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Tial (MISTRAL)

Kathrin Wode, Gunver S Kienle, Ove Björ, Per Fransson, Lena Sharp, Nils O Elander, Britt-Marie Bernhardson, Birgit Johansson, Christina Edwinsdotter Ardnor, Ursula Scheibling and 2 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02948309 (Mistletoe Therapy in Primary & Recurrent Inoperable Pancreatic Cancer. A Phase III Prospective Randomized Double Blinded Multicenter Parallel Group Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial on Overall Survival and Quality of Life), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT02948309 phase3completednot on this map

Mistletoe Therapy in Primary & Recurrent Inoperable Pancreatic Cancer. A Phase III Prospective Randomized Double Blinded Multicenter Parallel Group Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial on Overall Survival and Quality of Life

TypeinterventionalSponsorKarolinska University HospitalRan2016 to 2022Enrolled290ConditionsPancreatic CancerArmsMistletoe extract (Iscador Qu), Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Associations of corticosteroid therapy with weight change and appetite in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer - a post hoc analysis from the MISTRAL trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Combined Immune Checkpoint Blockade and HelixorInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  7. In Reply.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025
    Article
  8. Scrutiny Is Required.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025
    Article
  9. Mistletoe and Pancreatic Cancer.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Kathrin WodeDepartment of Radiation Sciences/Oncology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Regional Cancer Centre Stockholm Gotland, Stockholm, Sweden; Center for Complementary Medicine, Department of Medicine II, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology at Witten/Herdecke University (IFAEMM), Freiburg, Germany; Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden; Department of Oncology, Västmanlands Hospital, Västerås, Schweden; Department of Oncology, Ryhov County Hospital, Jönköping, Schweden; Palliative Care Unit Västerås, Schweden.
Gunver S Kienle
Ove Björ
Per Fransson
Lena Sharp
Nils O Elander
Britt-Marie Bernhardson
Birgit Johansson
Christina Edwinsdotter Ardnor
Ursula Scheibling
Johanna Hök Nordberg
Roger Henriksson

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with advanced pancreatic cancer have limited survival and few treatment options. We studied whether mistletoe extract (ME), in addition to comprehensive oncological treatment and palliative care, prolongs overall survival (OS) and improves health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

methodsThe double-blind, placebo-controlled MISTRAL trial was conducted in Swedish oncology centers. The main inclusion criteria were advanced exocrine pancreatic cancer and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2. The subjects were randomly assigned to ME (n=143) or placebo (n=147) and were stratified by study site and by eligibility (yes/no) for palliative chemotherapy (June 2016-December 2021). ME or placebo was injected subcutaneously three times a week for nine months. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS); one of the secondary endpoints was the HRQoL dimension global health/QoL (EORTC-QLQ-C30), as assessed at seven time points over nine months. Trial registration: EudraCT 2014-004552-64, NCT02948309.

resultsNo statistically significant benefit of adding ME to standard treatment was seen with respect to either OS or global health/ QoL. The adjusted hazard ratio for OS was 1.13 [0.89; 1.44], with a median survival time of 7.8 and 8.3 months for ME and placebo, respectively. The figures for the HRQoL dimension "global health/QoL" were similar in the two groups (p=0.86). The number, severity, and outcome of the reported adverse events were similar as well, except for more common local skin reactions at ME injection sites (66% vs. 1%).

conclusionME is unlikely to have a clinically significant effect on OS or the HRQoL dimension global health/QoL when administered in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in addition to comprehensive cancer care.

Indexed as

MistletoePancreatic NeoplasmsPlant ExtractsQuality of LifeAdultAgedDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPalliative CareSwedenTreatment OutcomePlant Extracts

Identifiers

PMID38915151
PMCPMC11539882

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.