Mistletoe (Iscador)-

mistletoe is a semiparasitic plant growing on several common trees, and the extracts of mistletoe have been used since ancient times as a treatment for cancer.  The extracts are injected intravenously, subcutaneously, into the pleural cavity, or into the tumor itself.  There have been many human studies of mistletoe for the treatment of cancer, but nearly all the studies were flawed due to the lack of any controls, therefore no scientific conclusions could be drawn about its effectiveness.  It was introduced as a cancer treatment in 1921 by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), a self-proclaimed clairvoyant and Austrian mystic that founded the religion “anthroposophy” that forms the basis of the Waldorf education system.  In the 1960s, Vester and Nienhaus isolated cancer arresting protein fractions from mistletoe, the cytotoxic viscotoxins and mistletoe lectins.  Iscador is an European extract of the fermented plant and one of the most commonly used natural antitumor agents in Europe.  Due to the many commercially available preparations with drastically different components, it is difficult to determine any consistent effect that is due to the extracts.  In a meta-analysis, there is a positive effect of the extracts although it is difficult to quantify especially given the few randomized trials.  The randomized trials showed dramatically less effect on tumors compared to non-randomized trials.  Comparing iscador to placebo in lung cancer patients, there was no difference in survival.   In other cancers, iscador may have some effect.  To see an analysis of all the effects, see the study at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804713/