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ISCADOR
A Possible Treatment for Cancer?
By Dan Kenner
Licensed Acupuncturist and author of
Botanical Medicine: A European Perspective
Iscador has recently been in the news when it was announced that a well-known Hollywood actress, diagnosed with breast cancer, was taking it as part of her treatment regimen. Iscador is a liquid extract from European mistletoe (Viscum album) that has been in wide use in parts of Europe for over 70 years, mostly for the treatment of cancer. The European mistletoe plant is different form the North American variety, which cannot be used to make this medication. The use of mistletoe for the treatment of cancer was first advocated by Rudolf Steiner, PhD (1861-1925), who was the founder of anthroposophy. Anthroposophy is a distillation of the traditional wisdom, spiritual practices and folklore that were marginalized during the Enlightenment of the 17th century and the subsequent scientific revolution. Steiner was also the founder of Waldorf education, which is based on anthroposophical teachings.
Mistletoe preparations are mainly used by physicians, many of whom are practitioners of anthroposophical medicine, in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is the most popular unconventional cancer treatment in Germany, used by 60% of cancer patients in that country. Not all mistletoe extracts are the same. The best known is Iscador, which is an extract of mistletoe that is fermented with the bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum, a bacterium that is commonly used for fermentation of foods. Many of the mistletoe extracts that have been used in clinical trials are simply extracts that are not fermented. It is speculated that fermentation may improve the absorption of the active components in the plant.
Treatment with mistletoe for cancer is usually by subcutaneous injection. A course of treatment often lasts several weeks during which the mistletoe extract is injected about five times a day, with gradual increases in the concentration of the extract. Usually the injection is given in the abdomen just under the skin, but sometimes the tumor is injected directly. Follow-up treatment usually involves two injections a week, sometimes continuing for years. There is usually an inflammatory reaction around the injection site and sometimes an increase in the patient's body temperature, even resulting in a fever. Treatment with mistletoe is considered to be compatible with conventional chemotherapy and radiation.
Research in several countries on mistletoe extracts indicates that its primary mechanism of action is stimulation of the immune system, but it may also have some tumor reduction properties. The inflammatory reaction that occurs around the injection of mistletoe extract is not an allergic reaction, but a sign of immune response. There are significant increases in the levels of white blood cells called monocytes, granulocytes and neutrophils. Granulocytes and neutrophils "eat up" bacteria and abnormal cells. Monocytes, along with other types of white blood cells, secrete and stimulate the production of chemical messengers called "cytokines." Some of the cytokines that are increased by treatment with mistletoe extract, such as interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a) are of particular importance to the immune system's activity at the level of the cells and tissues.
Clinicians who are experienced in the use of Iscador or other mistletoe extracts have observed that patients who have undergone radiation or chemotherapy are protected from the immune weakening effects of these treatments. Patients undergoing these conventional therapies seem to have fewer infections when they have used mistletoe extract. Loss of appetite is also reported to be improved by the use of mistletoe. It has also been reported that treatment with mistletoe reduces pain in patients at the late stages of cancer. This could be due to the stimulation of endorphins production by the mistletoe. Endorphins, endogenous "opiates," relieve pain and induce a relaxed sense of well being when they are in adequate supply.
It seems likely that Iscador, and probably other mistletoe extracts, can be useful for stimulating and protecting the immune system for cancer patients. There is laboratory and clinical evidence to support the proposition that mistletoe extracts enhance immunity. Improved immune function can be an important factor in the longevity and well being of the cancer patient, but the scientific literature is sparse in clinical studies that actually confirm tumor reduction and increased longevity. Iscador and other mistletoe extracts have been used to treat at least 80,000 cancer patients. The results collected from these treatments gives a powerful argument for expanding the scientific evaluation of the efficacy of Iscador as a weapon in the fight against cancer.
REFERENCES
Hajto T, Lanzrein C, "Natural killer and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity activities and large granular lymphocyte frequencies in Viscum album-treated breast cancer patients." Oncology 1986; 43:93-97.
Kleijnen J, Knipschild P. "Mistletoe treatment for cancer: review of controlled trials in humans." Phytomedicine 1994;1:255-260.
Kovac E, Hajto T, Hostanska K. "Improvement of DNA repair in lymphocytes of breast cancer patients treated with Viscum album extract (Iscador). Eur J Cancer 1991;27(12):1672-1676.
Hajto T. "Immunomodulatory effects of Iscador: a Viscum album preparation." Oncology 1986;43 (Suppl 1):51-65.
Hajto T, Hostanska K, Frei K, et al. "Increased secretion of tumor necrosis factor a, interleukin 1, and interleukin 6 by human mononuclear cell galactoside-specific lectin from clinically applied mistletoe extracts." Cancer Res 1990;50:3322-3326.
Mannel DN, Becker H, Gundt A, Kist A, Franz H. "Induction of tumor necrosis factor expression by a lectin from Viscum album." Cancer Immunol Immunother 1991;33:177-182.
Heiny BM, Beuth J. "Mistletoe extract standardized for the galactose-specific lectin (ML-1) induces beta-endorphin release and immunopotentiation in breast cancer patients." Anticancer Res 1994;14(3B):1339-1342.
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