Mistletoe Extract as a Supportive Therapy in Breast Cancer

Mistletoe Extract as a Supportive Therapy in Breast Cancer: Insights from a Randomized Pilot Study

A 2009 randomized pilot study titled “Quality of life and neutropenia in patients with early stage breast cancer: a randomized pilot study comparing additional treatment with mistletoe extract to chemotherapy alone” by Tröger et al. explored whether adding mistletoe extract (Iscador® M) to standard chemotherapy could improve patient outcomes. The trial enrolled 61 early-stage breast cancer patients receiving CAF chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil) and randomized them to either chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus subcutaneous mistletoe. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, while blood counts were monitored for neutropenia.

Across all 15 QoL domains, the mistletoe group reported better outcomes than the control group. Twelve scores showed statistically significant improvements, and nine of those had clinically meaningful gains of at least 5 points—notably in areas like fatigue, role functioning, emotional state, pain, nausea/vomiting, appetite, and diarrhea.

Neutropenia was less frequent in the mistletoe group, with 3 out of 30 mistletoe patients affected compared to 8 out of 31 control patients; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance.

In summary, the study suggests that adding mistletoe therapy during adjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer may significantly enhance multiple domains of quality of life. It also shows promise for mistletoe’s ability to reduce chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

References

Tröger W, Jezdić S, Zdrale Z, Tišma N, Hamre HJ, Matijašević M. Quality of life and neutropenia in patients with early stage breast cancer: a randomized pilot study comparing additional treatment with mistletoe extract to chemotherapy alone. Breast Cancer (Auckl). 2009;3:35‐45

By Dr. Sydney Moffat, ND and Dr. Gurdev Parmar, ND, FABNO(USA)