Systematic reviews on mistletoe in cancer – What implications for future research can be drawn?

Mistletoe extracts (Viscum album L.) have been used in cancer treatment for 80 years. Today, it is the most widely used complementary cancer treatment in Central Europe. Its effectiveness was investigated in numerous clinical studies which, again, were critically assessed by different systematic reviews. These reviews have different focuses in type of studies included – focusing on prospective, or on comparative, or on randomised studies, or on anthroposophically or on non-anthroposophically prepared mistletoe remedies – and in quality aspects outlined. Methodological quality of mistletoe studies differs substan…