Mistletoe extract may treat bladder cancer

After surgery for superficial Bladder cancer, treatment with a mistletoe extract appears to be effective at reducing tumor recurrence, German researchers report.

Mistletoe extract could be a potential alternative postoperative therapy for treating patients with superficial Bladder cancer successfully, "without the typical side effects induced by other therapies," said Dr. Ursula Elsaesser-Beile from the University of Freiburg.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has been shown to decrease tumor recurrence significantly after surgery for bladder cancer. However, serious side effects and even deaths have prompted a search for alternatives. So far, none has been equally effective.

Mistletoe extracts have been shown to act favorably on proteins that affect cancer and have been widely used for many years as alternative therapy in patients with malignancies.

In the current study, 30 patients with superficial bladder carcinoma received six weekly instillations of a standardized water-based mistletoe extract beginning about 4 weeks after surgery

The treatment was well tolerated at all concentrations and there were no reports of side effects.

At 12 months, nine tumors had recurred. In the 24 patients with so-called pTa G2 and pT1 G2 tumors, the recurrence rate was 33 percent, comparable to the recurrence rate in similar historical controls treated with BCG, the investigators point out.

While further studies are needed to define the best dosage, Elsaesser-Beile said the current findings indicate "a new approach for a broad clinical application of mistletoe extract in urological oncology."

SOURCE: Journal of Urology July 2005.