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Mistletoe Extract for Bladder Cancer
August 31, 2009
Bladder cancer, which is one of the more difficult cancers to treat, is normally confronted with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) injections. (BCG is an old tuberculosis vaccine that can produce an immune system response). While BCG injections have been shown to decrease post-surgery tumor recurrence, serious side effects (such as crippling arthritis) and even death have prompted an ongoing search for alternative therapies.
Recent studies have suggested that mistletoe extract may be just as effective at reducing tumor occurrence as BCG. In a study reported in the Journal of Urology, thirty patients with superficial bladder cancer received six weekly installations of a standardized water-based mistletoe extract beginning about four weeks after surgery. Recurrence rate was 33%, which is comparable to recurrence rate in similar cases treated with BCG. And the good news is, of course, that none of the difficult side effects that so often accompany BCG were present with mistletoe extract.
Topics: Health News