Why is NCCAM studying mistletoe as a cancer treatment?
NCCAM is studying mistletoe in combination with a chemotherapy drug as a cancer treatment in people who are at least 18 years old and have certain advanced solid tumors. The study is being done for the following reasons. First, earlier studies have found mistletoe extracts to contain ingredients that could have a role in cancer treatment. In the laboratory, certain substances in mistletoe (especially two called lectins and viscotoxins) were found to stimulate cells in the body’s immune system, such as the white blood cells. When exposed to mistletoe, the white blood cells release messenger substances called cytokines, which in turn may help the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Lectins, which bind to the outside of a cell and can initiate changes within a cell, have been shown to kill cancer cells and stimulate cells of the immune system. Second, results from over 30 clinical studies in Europe on mistletoe as a cancer treatment have been published. These studies examined the effect
