Lymphoma, Follicular Dtsch Med Wochenschr 1986 Feb 21;111(8):283-7 [The use of paramedical treatment methods by cancer patients. A inquiry on 101 ambulatory patients]. [Article in German] Obrist R, von Meiss M, Obrecht JP. In an anonymous inquiry 101 consecutive tumour patients and their doctors were questioned on the use of treatment methods and preparations without proven efficacy. 32 patients stated they were using such preparations and methods. Three-quarters of the patients had adopted the following dietetic measures, in descending order of frequency: beetroot juice (34%), vitamins (22%), lactic acid or herbal products (9% each). Iscador (mistletoe extract) was used by 21%, and homoeopathic preparations by 6%. Patients' estimate of the total cost, in 69% of cases, was below 300 Swiss francs, but in one case it exceeded 1200. There was no difference in the use or non-use of the products in regard to the doctor's assessment of the prognosis, age, the therapeutic success according to established medical criteria, or the diagnosis and its correct appreciation by the patient. Male patients employed these methods or preparations significantly more often (43%) than female patients (22%); such patients also showed a higher incidence of severe suffering from side effects of chemotherapy (19% vs. 7%), especially nausea. The use of Iscador was known to the doctor in 71% of the cases, whereas the use of the other methods and preparations was known in only 25%. ================================================== Leuk Lymphoma 2000 Mar;37(1-2):163-7 Follicular lymphoma. A series of 11 patients with minimal or no treatment and long survival. Sapunar F, Catovsky D, Wotherspoon A, Matutes E. Academic Department of Haematology and Cytogenetics, The Royal Marsden NHS Trust, London, UK. Follicular lymphoma is the commonest low-grade lymphoma. Its indolent nature even in advanced stages and the failure of conservative or aggressive treatments to achieve a cure have questioned the need for immediate treatment. Eleven patients with follicular lymphoma who had minimal or no treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Median age was 44 years. Staging was: I (4), III (6) and IV (1). Eight were confirmed to have follicular lymphoma of whom six did not receive treatment at presentation. Four of these patients remain in remission after 14 to 30 years of follow-up and the other two have relapsed after 10 and 13 years of follow-up, respectively. Two patients who were treated at diagnosis remained disease free for 18 years. Three patients had diffuse large cell lymphoma on review. They received no treatment, radiotherapy or chemotherapy and have been in remission for 36, 14 and 23 years respectively. The overall survival is 58% at 30 years, and median survival has not been reached for the whole group. Observation seems to be a valid alternative to treatment in patients with stages I to III until signs of progression. ================================================== Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 1993 Mar 30;113(9):1058-60 Comment in: Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1993 Aug 10;113(18):2284-5 [Mistletoe in the treatment of cancer]. [Article in Norwegian] Bruseth S, Enge A. Lierskogen legekontor. Mistletoe (Viscum album) was introduced in the treatment of cancer in 1917. Today, extracts from the plant are used in adjuvant cancer therapy mainly as injections. The most important active agents are lectins, which have cytotoxic and immunostimulating effects. Mistletoe extracts have low toxicity. No fatal side effects have been reported. More than 40 clinical studies have been carried out, mainly at the Lukas Klinik in Switzerland and the Ludvig Boltzmann-Institute in Austria. Most of these studies claim that mistletoe has a positive effect, but were of poor methodological design. Therefore, in the light of our own positive experiences, we recommend a randomized multicentre study to evaluate the effect of mistletoe in cancer treatment. Publication Types: Historical article Review Review, tutorial ================================================== J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 1983;105(3):262-5 Studies on the tumor-inhibiting efficacy of Iscador in experimental animal tumors. Berger M, Schmahl D. The effect of Iscador was tested in a total of four tumor models involving some 214 rats and 93 mice. Although several doses of the agent were used, no significant antitumor effect was observed. ================================================== Z Arztl Fortbild (Jena) 1996 Apr;90(2):103-10 [The mistletoe myth--claims, reality and provable perspectives]. [Article in German] Gabius HJ, Andre S, Kaltner H, Siebert HC, von der Lieth CW, Gabius S. Institut fur Physiologische Chemie, Tierarztliche Fakultat, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen. Intuition guided R. Steiner to refer to mistletoe as the future remedy for cancer. He proposed that its spiritual qualities support re-establishment of the harmonious integration of the alleged four different entities of human existence in a patient. The assumption of potency without chemical basis is derived from the dogmatic system of anthroposophic reasoning. It explains the evidently similar claim of clinical efficiency for the proprietary mistletoe extracts despite the lack of information on the actual contents of the complex mixtures and despite the conspicuous diversity of methods of manufacture for these products. Thorough scientific analysis of the published clinical experience does not justify this claim. Due to the increasing reference to defined substances in advertisements for commercial extracts, they should no longer avoid rigorous testing according to common quality standards. Interdisciplinary research efforts on the immunomodulatory galactoside-binding lectin illustrate how to yield a clinically testable substance from an ill-defined extract, thereby providing a notable example for rational investigation of unconventional treatment modalities. ================================================== Indian J Exp Biol 2000 Jun;38(6):554-8 Damage induction by direct electric current in tumoural target cells. Holandino C, Veiga VF, Capella MM, Menezes S, Alviano CS. Departamento de Medicamentos-Faculdade de Farmacia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Damage induction to tumour target cells (P815) by direct electric current (DC) was investigated. A 6 min treatment of P815 cells with DC generated decreased levels of cell viability and proliferation. The ultrastructural analysis of DC-treated cells revealed the presence of blebs, loss of cell surface filopodia, and ruptures in cell membrane. Mitochondrial alterations, swelling of cells, cytoplasmic matrix rarefaction, and cellular debri formation were also observed. The study shows that tumoural target cells can be damaged by direct electric current and this approach may provide means to understand the mechanism of tumour regression induced by electrochemical therapy. ================================================== J Clin Oncol 1998 Nov;16(11):3649-55 Phase I/II trial of the safety and efficacy of shark cartilage in the treatment of advanced cancer. Miller DR, Anderson GT, Stark JJ, Granick JL, Richardson D. Cancer Treatment Research Foundation, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Arlington Heights, IL 60005, USA. gary.anderson@ctca-corp.com PURPOSE: Patients with cancer and chronic inflammatory disorders have used shark cartilage (SC) preparations for many years. Preclinical studies that support their beneficial effects are scanty, and reports of clinical trials have been anecdotal. The proposed mechanisms of antitumor action include direct or indirect inhibition of angiogenesis. Because of the emerging use of SC as an alternative to conventional cancer therapy, this trial was launched to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty adult patients with advanced previously treated cancer (breast, 16 patients; colorectal, 16 patients; lung, 14 patients; prostate, eight patients; non-Hodgkin lymphoma, three patients; brain, one patient; and unknown primary tumor, two patients) were enrolled. Eligibility criteria included confirmation of diagnosis, resistance to conventional therapy, objective measurable disease, life expectancy of 12 weeks or greater, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 2, no recent or concomitant anticancer therapy, no prior SC, and informed consent. Patients underwent evaluation of the extent of disease, quality-of-life score (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General [FACT-G] scale), and hematologic, biochemical, and selected immune function studies at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks of SC therapy. The dose of SC was 1 g/kg daily orally in three divided doses. Standard criteria were used to evaluate adverse events and response. RESULTS: Ten of 60 patients were lost to follow-up(LTFU) or refused further treatment (RFT) before the 6-week evaluation and were not assessable for toxicity and response. Three patients with stable disease at 6 weeks were LTFU or RFT thereafter. Of the 47 fully assessable patients, five were taken off study because of gastrointestinal toxicity or intolerance to SC. Progressive disease (PD) at 6 or 12 weeks occurred in 22 and five patients, respectively. Five patients died of PD while undergoing SC therapy. No complete (CRs) or partial responses (PRs) were noted. Median time to tumor progression in the entire study population was 7+/-9.7 weeks (mean, 11.4 weeks; range, 3.7 to 45.7 weeks). Ten (20%) of 50 assessable patients, or 16.7% of the 60 intent-to-treat patients, had stable disease (SD) for 12 weeks or more. The median time to tumor progression was 27 weeks, the mean was 28.8+/-9.9 weeks, and the range was 18.6 to 45.7 weeks. In this subset, FACT-G scores improved in four patients, were unchanged in four patients, and declined in two patients. Twenty-one adverse events (grade 1, eight events; grade 2, seven events; and grade 3, six events) were recorded, 14 of which were gastroenterologic (nausea, vomiting, constipation). CONCLUSION: Under the specific conditions of this study, SC as a single agent was inactive in patients with advanced-stage cancer and had no salutary effect on quality of life. The 16.7% rate of SD was similar to results in patients with advanced cancer treated with supportive care alone. ================================================== Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery 1996 Jun;2(3):68-70 Complementary therapies: a patient's choice. Thwaite J. Judith Thwaite discusses the role of complementary therapy in her treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1988 and since that time she has tried a number of therapies. A visit to the Bristol Cancer Help Centre changed her outlook on life and the Centre's policy of patient empowerment encouraged her to fulfil an ambition to write. She also visits the Royal Homoeopathic Hospital, London, regularly for massage, shiatsu, acupuncture, and reflexology and relates how these have helped her cope with the disease as well as her sessions of chemotherapy. Throughout her illness she has remained positive and optimistic, determined to use whatever methods that are available to help her. ================================================== Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 1995;26 Suppl 1:306-10 Study of genotoxic effects of antidiarrheal medicinal herbs on human cells in vitro. Settheetham W, Ishida T. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand. The use of medicinal herbs has been a common practice in Asia but their genotoxic properties are little known. In the present study, genotoxic effects of three antidiarrheal herbs, guava leaf, mangosteen peel and pomegranate peel, were examined using established human cell lines, Raji and P3HR-1. Cells were treated with boiled-water extract of the herbs at various concentrations for 24 and 48 hours in vitro. Cell growth and viability were dose dependently reduced. No apparent chromosomal aberrations were induced by the treatment. Administration of pomegranate extract induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation. This genotoxicity test system is simple and convenient for the primary screening. ================================================== Am J Chin Med 1995;23(2):195-211 Traditional Chinese medicines improve the course of refractory leukemic lymphoblastic lymphoma and acute lymphocytic leukemia: two case reports. Hijikata Y, Kaneko J, Xi L, Nasu M, Yamashita S. Tokyo Adventist Hospital, Japan. A 34 year-old man with leukemic lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL), who could not tolerate chemotherapy due to its side effects, was diagnosed to have an acute febrile disease by a traditional Chinese medical doctor, Lu Gan Fu. Zixuedan, a traditional Chinese remedy for dissipation of pathogenic heat and detoxification that could reduce WBC count including leukemic cells below 1000/microliters without intolerable side effects, was prescribed for treatment. A second case of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) was a 41 year-old female who also could not tolerate chemotherapy. In her fourth recurrence, she started Chinese medicine including modified zixuedan, which gave her transient improvement followed by aggravation. Intake of previously ineffective cyclophosphamide in combination with Chinese medicine led to a dramatic improvement. ================================================== Pol Tyg Lek 1991 Dec 2-9;46(48-49):922-3 [Results of delayed treatment of patients with malignant tumors of the lymphatic system]. [Article in Polish] Pawlicki M, Rachtan J, Rolski J, Sliz E. Kliniki Chemioterapii Centrum Onkologii Instytutu im. M. Sklodowskiej-Curie, Oddzial w Krakowie. The causes, with considerably influence the advancement of cancer process have been investigated in patients with lymphatic system tumours admitted to the Department of Chemotherapy at the Center of Oncology in Cracow. It has been revealed, that the delay in the treatment was mainly due to false first diagnosis as well as the negligence of the symptoms by the patients themselves and also to consulting medically unrecognized "healers" before undertaking proper, specialized treatment. It has been observed, that more than every fourth patient took advice of "non-doctors", i.e. bioenergy-therapists, incompetent healers, herbalists and so forth. These factors by influencing further delay in the treatment, diminish its chances.