(Press-News.org) Mistletoe extract has been widely used to support cancer therapy and improve quality of life, but there has been a lack of clinical trials and data to support its use. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center completed what is believed to be the first phase I trial of intravenous Helixor M in the U.S. aimed at determining dosing for subsequent clinical trials and to evaluate safety.
The findings from the small study were reported online Feb. 9 in Cancer Research Communications.
The trial’s purpose was to evaluate the drug’s safety, but the researchers, led by Channing Paller, M.D., associate professor of oncology, also documented improved quality of life and some disease control.
Mistletoe extract (ME), known as Helixor M, was studied in 21 patients with advanced and treatment-resistant cancers of various types. The phase I trial used dose escalation to determine the maximum dose that could be safely tolerated by patients. ME was delivered intravenously three times per week until disease progression or until toxicity. The study concluded that dose to be 600 milligrams of ME.
The median follow-up duration on mistletoe was 15.3 weeks. Stable disease was observed in five patients and lasted, on average, for 15 weeks. Tumors in three participants decreased in size, and remained stable for two to five months, however, this did not meet official criteria for partial response. Patients also reported overall improved quality of life via a questionnaire. The most common side effects reported were fatigue, nausea, and chills and they were noted as manageable.
“Intravenous mistletoe demonstrated manageable toxicities with disease control and improved quality of life in this group of patients, who had already received multiple cancer therapies,” says Paller, adding that additional phase II studies in combination with chemotherapy are the next step, pending additional funding.
In addition, Paller says, laboratory research to better decipher ME’s mechanisms are needed, as the cytokines (cell-signaling proteins) measured in this study are preliminary and hypothesis generating.
Mistletoe extract is a semi-parasitic plant with several active ingredients that, in preclinical studies, appear to directly cause the death of tumor cells and stimulate an immune response. It has been used in Europe for several decades as a complementary medicine approach to cancer treatment alone or in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but it has not been evaluated in clinical trials. ME is not currently FDA approved for cancer treatment in the U.S. but is listed in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia and is offered in integrative care clinics.
In addition to Paller, other researchers included Lin Wang, Wei Fu, Rajedra Kumar, Jennifer N. Durham, Nilofer S. Azad, Daniel A. Laheru, Ilene Browner, Sushant K. Kachhap, Kavya Boyapati, Thomas Odeny, Deborah K. Armstrong, Christian F. Meyer, Stephanie Gaillard, Julie R. Brahmer, Ivelisse Page, Hao Wang, and Luis A. Diaz.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health P30CA006973, and Believe Big, Inc. Study drug was provided by Helixor Heilmittel GmbH.
END
U.S. study of intravenous mistletoe extract to treat advanced cancer
2023-02-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Ultrasound-guided vascular access textbook offers real-world roadmap for difficult cases
2023-02-22
PATERSON, N.J.—The first-ever casebook on ultrasound-guided vascular access procedures offers practical solutions to complex bedside challenges with an emphasis on improving patient safety. Now available from Springer Publishing, the casebook features 50 chapters highlighting clinical challenges and evidence-based solutions for everything from peripheral to tunneled central lines in neonatal, pediatric, and adult patient populations.
Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Access: Practical Solutions to Bedside Clinical Challenges is coauthored by vascular access expert Matthew D. Ostroff, MSN, APN, and world-renowned cardiac surgeon Mark Connolly, MD, ...
Stanford-led study reveals a fifth of California’s Sierra Nevada conifer forests are stranded in habitats that have grown too warm for them
2023-02-22
Like an old man suddenly aware the world has moved on without him, the conifer tree native to lower elevations of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range finds itself in an unrecognizable climate. A new Stanford-led study reveals that about a fifth of all Sierra Nevada conifer forests – emblems of Western wilderness – are a “mismatch” for their regions’ warming weather. The paper, to be published Feb. 28 in PNAS Nexus, highlights how such “zombie forests” are temporarily cheating death, likely to be replaced with tree species ...
The myths around consumer financial vulnerability -- and how it affects most consumers at different points in their lives
2023-02-22
Researchers from Boston College, Georgetown University, American University, Texas A&M University, and Colorado State University published a new Journal of Marketing article that challenges the entrenched belief that financial vulnerability only affects low-income consumers.
The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Beyond Income: Dynamic Consumer Financial Vulnerability” and is authored by Linda Court Salisbury, Gergana Y. Nenkov, Simon J. Blanchard, Ronald Paul Hill, Alexander L. Brown, and Kelly D. Martin.
Even pre-pandemic, many U.S. workers lived ...
Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado awarded 2023 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science
2023-02-22
For his contributions to the field of regeneration, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science. The Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science is a $100,000 prize awarded annually by the Vilcek Foundation as part of its prizes program.
Awarded annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation prizes recognize and celebrate immigrant contributions to scientific research and discovery, and to artistic and cultural advancement in the United States. The prizes provide direct support to individual immigrant scientists and artists and help to raise greater public awareness of the value of immigration ...
Mapping DNA damage from exposure to a compound in cigarette, industrial smoke
2023-02-22
People are occasionally exposed to potentially harmful substances in the environment or through their diets or habits. For example, a compound found in cigarette and industrial smoke, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), is known to damage DNA. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have mapped these effects — down to the single-nucleotide level — for the first time in human lung cells after BaP exposure. They say that this technique could help predict exposures that lead to cancers.
When BaP gets into a person’s body and is metabolized, it can turn into a new compound, or metabolite, that irreversibly attaches to one ...
This new sensor can detect mercury ions with just a tap (video)
2023-02-22
Although many measures are in place to prevent contamination, pollutants, such as mercury and lead, can still end up in the environment. Sensing them often requires complicated processes, but what if you could detect them with the tap of a fingertip? Researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a self-powered nanosensor that can discover small amounts of mercury ions and immediately report the result. Watch a video of the nanosensor in action here.
Mercury in its Hg2+ form can be harmful if consumed through contaminated water or food, so researchers have developed various mercury sensors. One ...
UT Health San Antonio scientists tie obesity to Alzheimer’s-related genes
2023-02-22
SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 22, 2023) — In a new study, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) link obesity with 21 Alzheimer’s disease-related genes, providing a potential mechanistic explanation for why Alzheimer’s is sometimes more frequent among adults who experienced obesity in midlife.
The findings from 5,619 participants of the Framingham Heart Study were published Feb. 22 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. The research team analyzed 74 Alzheimer’s-related genes from Framingham ...
Mount Sinai researchers discover key role of DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease
2023-02-22
Mount Sinai researchers have published a study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association that sheds new light on the role of DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study found that DNA methylation has a profound impact on gene and protein co-expression networks associated with AD and could lead to the discovery of new neuropathological processes and molecular mechanisms for developing novel treatments for the disease.
The study was conducted using a novel analytical approach to quantify the impact of DNA methylation on gene and protein expression and a large ...
New Cardinal Health report examines shifts in biosimilars industry
2023-02-22
DUBLIN, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2023 -- Today, Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) released its 2023 Biosimilars Report: Tracking market expansion and sustainability amidst a shifting industry, a publication that highlights provider perceptions, utilization and the latest market trends of biosimilars. The report assesses new and changing perspectives regarding some of the most disruptive biosimilars launched in the areas of immunology and ophthalmology, noting a growing familiarity of the medications among rheumatologists with 76% reporting being very familiar with the products, a 43% jump year-over-year. The research also reports high familiarity among gastroenterologists (81%) compared to ophthalmologists ...
Scientists use satellite images to study the degradation of rangelands in Tanzania
2023-02-22
East Africa’s iconic rangelands - under threat from climate change and human activity - have the potential to recover from repeated environmental shocks and degradation, a new study has concluded.
Covering 47% of the Earth’s land surface, rangelands are home to one third of the global population, many of whom are pastoralists who depend on the savannahs to meet their daily need for shelter, water and food.
But because rangelands develop in semi-arid areas and are primarily used for grazing, they are highly vulnerable to changes in rainfall and human pressures.
As part of the study, published ...