Why is NCCAM studying mistletoe in combination with gemcitabine?
The researchers want to find out more about both mistletoe as a cancer treatment and the effectiveness and safety of combining it with a chemotherapy drug. Mistletoe has been given with chemotherapy in clinical practice, but it is unclear whether that is safe or effective for the treatment of cancer. The drug that appeared to be the best candidate for the NCCAM combination study is gemcitabine. A commercially available drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, gemcitabine is commonly used as a treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and gynecological cancers. It is also used as a treatment for patients with advanced breast and colorectal cancer. The researchers are seeking to find out how patients respond overall to this combination; whether mistletoe affects how the chemotherapy is tolerated (especially in bone marrow functions); and whether mistletoe’s previously reported effects on the immune system also occur in this treatment combination
