Beuth, J., Schneider, B., & Schierholz, J. M. (2008). Impact of complementary treatment of breast cancer patients with standardized mistletoe extract during aftercare: a controlled multicenter comparative epidemiological cohort study. Anticancer Research, 28, 523–527.
Data were acquired by the investigators from the patients’ medical records at each of the study centers and were transferred to a standardized case report form (CRF). Data collected included patient demographics, characteristics of cancer disease and treatment, disease-related symptoms and adverse effects experienced by the patients, and the course of the disease. Outcomes were assessed at yearly intervals until the end of the observation or treatment period.
A total of 681 women with primary breast cancer were included.
Study Group
Control Group
Patients were excluded if they received other mistletoe products except the study medication, if they suffered from a relapse or metastatic disease at the beginning of the postoperative treatment, or if a secondary malignancy was detected.
The study was conducted in 53 randomly selected hospitals or practices representatively distributed in Germany, including oncologists, gynecologists, and general practitioners.
Unclear
This was a controlled, multicenter, comparative, epidemiological, cohort study.
Data were collected on CRFs in which, prior to data collection, the data elements required for the study were identified and defined.
The complementary standardized mistletoe extract study group reported a statistically significant lower number of fatigue or tiredness symptoms compared to the control group during an aftercare period of about five years, with 0.6% versus 1.0% reporting fatigue symptoms for the study and control groups, respectively.