What is Mistletoe Therapy for Cancer? How do I know if it is right for me?

What is Mistletoe Therapy?

Mistletoe extract (“Viscum album”) is a plant-based medicine that has been used for cancer care in Germany and Switzerland for 100 years.   80% of German oncologists utilize mistletoe as an adjunct to standard cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

Mistletoe is not meant to replace standard treatment, but to help improve quality of life during therapy and to augment and improve the results of conventional standard of care oncological treatments.

What is so unique about mistletoe?

MIstletoe is quite unique that it doesn't grow in the earth.  It grows by tapping into the wood of a "host" tree and nourishes itself directly from the tree.  Mistletoe growth is not influenced by gravity or it's relationship to the sun.  It grows in a spherical shape (see the photograph above) not unlike a tumor.  It's active growth occurs from April to June and then flowers and bears fruit in December.  Mistletoe contains over one thousand different identified constituents that have shown to be clinically effective in the treatent of cancer.

What Does the Research Say?

 Quality of Life (How You Feel Day to Day)

• A review of 26 clinical trials found that more than 20 studies showed improvements in quality of life—less fatigue, less nausea, better appetite, improved sleep, and mood¹
• Another systematic review confirmed improvements in energy, emotional well-being, and ability to carry out daily activities when mistletoe was added to chemo or radiation.²
  
  What this means: Many patients feel better during cancer treatment if they use mistletoe injections alongside standard therapy.  Patients utilizing mistletoe while receiving standard of care cancer treatments are therefore able to tolerate the maximal dosing and often able to complete the entire standard treatment regimen.  Mistletoe allows patients to receive maximal benefits while minimizing side effects of conventional oncology. 

What are the direct anti-cancer effects of mistletoe?

• Induction of Apoptosis (cancer cell death): This is achieved through direct cytotoxic (cancer killing) effects by breaking down the tumor cell membrane and indirectly by supporting the immune cells that are able to kill cancer cells. (Natural killer cells, T helper cells, and T cytotoxic cells) ^3,4,5
• Limits metastasis (spreading of cancer): Mistletoe lowers Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) which reduces the cancer’s ability to expand it’s blood supply and new blood vessel formation.  It also inhibits proliferation and protein synthesis of tumor cells. ^6,7,8
• Repair and Stabilize healthy DNA: When healthy cells are stressed or harmed by disease or conventional treatment, mistletoe can stabilize and repair damaged DNA.  This may be a result of an increase in repair enzymes or decreased effects of toxic agents.  ^9,10

How does mistletoe affect the immune system?

The initial observable effect after the sub-cutaneous mistletoe injection is the redness, heat, and/or itching at the injection site.  This is a sign that the mistletoe is activating the immune system causing a release of cytokines (immune messengers) that initiate a cascade of positive events including:

• Increasing white blood cells, including lymphocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes.¹¹
• Improve anti-tumor effects monocytes and macrophages (pac man like cells that attack cancer)¹²
• Activates dendritic cells (the conductor or organizer of immune response)¹³
• Increase Natural Killer cell formation in the bone marrow and increase their activity. ¹⁴
• Increases activity of T helper cells (CD4+ cells)¹⁵
• Increases effectiveness of T killer cells (CD8+ cells)¹⁶

Can I utilize Mistletoe therapy while receiving chemotherapy and radiation?

Many conventional oncologists are not knowledgeable about the benefits of Mistletoe therapy.  Dr. Nelson has 15 years of successful clinical experience helping patients incorporate Mistletoe therapy into their cancer care.  

Multiple studies have shown that mistletoe is easily combined with conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapies.   Patients that combine mistletoe with standard of care oncology are better able to tolerate the side effects of their conventional care.  

How is Mistletoe given?

Mistletoe has traditionally been administered by subcutaneous injections.  SubQ injections are not painful when given with a very small needle in the abdomen or close to the tumor.  These injections are given several times per week.   After training in our office, patients usually perform the injections themselves at home.

In addition to subQ injections, Dr. Nelson is one of the few physicians that also provides Mistletoe therapy with the following methods:

• Intravenous - best method to increase whole body effect before intratumoral or mistletoe fever treatment
• Intra and extratumoral - provides the benefits of mistletoe directly into the tumor or right outside of tumor to increase direct immune response
• Mistletoe Fever Induction Therapy (MFIT) - uses a higher potency of mistletoe to induce a therapeutic fever to jump start immune response.
• Intra-peritoneal injection - Ultrasound guided injection into the abdominal cavity for patients with ascites or abdominal tumors with metastasis. 
• Oral - Although the oral use of mistletoe has traditionally thought to be ineffective, it is often used in pediatric patients with brain cancer.  There are numerous clinical reports of benefits of this type or therapy in pediatric oncology.  

Is Mistletoe FDA approved and covered by insurance?

Mistletoe therapies are considered investigational/experimental and are not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of any condition.   In our opinion, mistletoe therapy has been clinically effective with our patients, which is why we include it as part of our comprehensive.  A recent study of patients with advance treatment_resistant solid tumors at Johns Hopkins showed that Mistletoe was helpful in reducing fatigue, nausea, chills, etc, provided some disease stabilization, and improved the patient's quality of life>

How can I find a doctor with experience and expertise in using mistletoe?

There are very few oncologists in the US utlizing mistletoe in the cancer treatments.  Dr. Nelson is a leader in the growing number of Naturopathic Oncologists that offer mistletoe as part of his individualized cancer treatment program.  Dr. Nelson has been using mistletoe safely and effectively for 15 years with over a thousand patients.  Dr. Nelson has been trained by the most knowledgeable US and international mistletoe experts on advanced mistletoe therapies.  He offers mistletoe from a wide variety of host trees (apple, pine, fir, hawthorn, willow, poplar, oak, ash, linden, birch,etc).   Dr. Nelson is one of the few US physicians offering advanced mistletoe therapies such as intra-tumoral (inside the tumor), peri-tumoral (adjacent to the tumor), intravenous (IV), Ultrasound guided peritoneal (inside the abdominal cavity), and Mistletoe Fever Induction Therapy (MFIT)

Patients interested in utilizing mistletoe therapy should contact our office at 602-692-4626.  Dr. Nelson will help determine the best variety of mistletoe, the best route of administration, and a program that meets your individual needs. 

References

1. Kienle GS, Kiene H. Review of 26 controlled clinical trials on mistletoe extract and quality of life. Integr Cancer Ther. 2010.

2. Ostermann T, et al. Systematic review: mistletoe therapy improves quality of life outcomes. BMC Cancer. 2009.

3. Tabiasco, et al. “Mistletoe viscotoxins increase natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity,” Eur. J Biochem., May 2002;269(10):2591-600.

4. Increase in CD8(+) cells: E. Gardin.  “Immunological response to mistletoe in cancer patients”  Phytother. Res., Mar. 2009;23(3):407-11.

5. Increase in Cytotoxic T cells: J Beuth, et al. “Behavior of lymphocyte subsets and expression of activation markers in response to immunotherapy with galactoside-specific lectin from mistletoe in breast cancer patients”  Investig., Aug. 1992:70(8):658-61.

6. M. Moon, et al. “Effect of mistletoe on endometrial stronmal cell survival and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in patients with endometriosis,” Int. J. Med. Sci, Oct 2018 20;15(13):1530-36

7. B. Park, et al. “Inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis by Korean mistletoe lectin is associated with apoptosis and antiangiogenesis,” Cancer Biother Radiopharm, Oct. 2001;16(5):439-47

8. Stirpe, et al. “Inhibition of protein synthesis by a toxic lectin from Viscum album L,” Biochem J., 1980;190(3):843-45.

9. Kovacs, et al “Improvement of DNA repair in lymphocytes of breast cancer patients treated with VAE (Iscador)” Eur. J. Cancer 1991;27(12):1672-6

10. M Woynarowski and J. Konopa. “Interaction between DNA and viscotoxins from Viscum album L,” Hoppe Seylers A. Physiol. Chem. , Oct. 1980;361(10):1535

11. M. Stein and P. A. Berg. “Evaluation of the stimulatory activity of a fermented mistloe lectin-1 free VAE on T-helper cells and monocytes in healthy individuals in vitro.” Arzneimittelforschung, June 1996;46(6);635-39.

12. S. Kienle and H. Kiene. Mistletoe in Oncology: Facts and Basic concepts. New York: Schatauer, 2003

13. M. Stein, et al. “Stimulation of the maturation of dendritic cells by a fermented mistletoe extract,”Anticancer Res., Nov-Dec 2002;222(6C):4215-19.

14. N. Baxevanis, et al. “Mistletoe lectin I-induced effects on human cytotoxic lymphocytes” Immunopharm Immunotoxicology. Aug 1998;20(3):335-72.

15. Fischer, et al. “Oligoclonal in vitro response of CD4T cells to vesicles of VAE in mistletoe-treated cancer patients,” Cancer Immunol. Immunother., My 1997;44(3):150-56

16. Hobohm. “Fever therapy revisited,” Br. J Cancer, 2005;92(3):421-5.

Author

Dr. William Nelson William Nelson, NMD, is a naturopathic medical doctor who brings years of medical expertise to his practice, Explore Health, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dr. Nelson is heralded as the go-to physician for patients who feel they have exhausted their time and resources attempting to resolve complex health challenges. He is also respected internationally as a preeminent addiction medicine specialist and hosts ”Your Road to Personal Addiction Recovery,” which is one of the most-listened-to podcasts on the matter. Dr. Nelson is an expert in non-surgical joint and back repair helping people in North Scottsdale and Flagstaff, AZ become pain free from painful knees, hips, shoulders, low back, whiplash, and other chronic or acute injuries.