Thursday, April 03, 2008
Anti-Cancer
Mistletoe has not been proven to target cancer and can instead cause harm, doctors warn in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Extracts of the festive plant are used in some countries as a complementary medicine for cancer; at least 30 different preparations are available and in Germany the insurance system pays for this treatment.
Commenting on a case outlined in the BMJ in which a cancer patient attended hospital with a tumour-like growth under the skin induced by mistletoe extract, Edzard Ernst, professor of complimentary medicine at the universities of Plymouth and Exeter, said that studies into the success of mistletoe as a treatment are inconclusive.
Proponents of the extract argue that regular injections can slow down and even stop cancer growth and improve the patient's quality of life.
But Professor Ernst argues that studies attempting to prove this are "methodologically weak" and that "the less rigorous they are the greater the likelihood of a positive result."
"Independent reviewers tend to focus on the most reliable evidence and regularly find that neither of the above two claims are supported by good evidence," he claims.
Adverse affects outlined by Professor Ernst include joint pain, ulcers and kidney failure.
"Thus, mistletoe has been tested extensively as a treatment for cancer, but the most reliable randomised controlled trials fail to show benefit, and some reports show considerable potential for harm," he concludes.
"The costs of regular mistletoe injections are high. I therefore recommend mistletoe as a Christmas decoration and for kissing under but not as an anticancer drug."