Table 1 Characteristics of included studies
From: Quality of life in cancer patients treated with mistletoe: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Reference | Country | Study type | Participants (number at baseline; number of females; mean age) | Cancer, stage | Intervention | QoL measurement | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
verum | control | verum | control | |||||
Bar-Sela 2013 [26] | Israel | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 33; 5; 63 | 39; 11; 62 | lung cancer (NSCLC), IIIa, IIIb, IV | chemotherapy, Iscador Q | chemotherapy | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Borrelli 2001 [27] | Italya | randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 20; 20; n/a | 10; 10; n/a | breast cancer, IV | surgery/ chemotherapy, then mistletoe extract | surgery/ chemotherapy, then water | Spitzer QoL |
Dold 1991 [28] | Germany | multi-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 114; 6; 65,6 | 113; 6; 67,5 | lung cancer (NSCLC), I-IV | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador Q | conventional oncological therapy, BVK Roche | KPI |
Enesel 2005 [29] | Romaniaa | randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 40; n/a; n/a | 30; n/a; n/a | digestive tract cancer, n/a | surgery, Isorel A | surgery | KPI |
Grah 2010 [30] | Germany | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 26; 7; 64,3 | 24; 7; 63 | lung cancer (NSCLC), IIIb, IV | chemotherapy, Iscador Q spezial | chemotherapy | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Grossarth-Maticek, 2006a [31] | Germany | multi-center, multiple data-sets, randomized/ not randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional/not interventional, nested matched pairs | MammaRand: 39; 39; 52,8 Mamma: 97; 97; 52,2 | MammaRand: 39; 39; 52,9 Mamma: 97; 97; 52,2 | breast cancer, T1a-T3 | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador | conventional oncological therapy | self-regulation |
Grossarth-Maticek, 2006b [32] | Germany | multi-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional, nested matched pairs | 17; 17; 44,5 | 17; 17; 44,6 | breast cancer, T2–4 | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador | conventional oncological therapy | self-regulation |
Grossarth-Maticek, 2007a [35] | Germany | multi-center, multiple data-sets, randomized/ not randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional/not interventional, nested matched pairs | Cervix: 102; 102; 51 CervixMetRand: 19; 19; 47,7 | Cervix: 102; 102; 51 CervixMetRand: 19; 19; 47,6 | cervical cancer, IB-IVa | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador | conventional oncological therapy | self-regulation |
Grossarth-Maticek, 2007b [34] | Germany | multi-center, multiple data-sets, randomized/ not randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional/not interventional, nested matched pairs | Ovar: 75; 75; 43 OvarRand: 21; 21; 45,4 | Ovar: 75; 75; 45,1 OvarRand: 21; 21; 45,5 | ovarian cancer, IA-C, IV | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador | conventional oncological therapy | self-regulation |
Grossarth-Maticek, 2007c [33] | Germany | multi-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional, nested matched pairs | 22; 8; 52 | 22; 8; 52 | melanoma, n/a | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador | conventional oncological therapy | self-regulation |
Grossarth-Maticek, 2008 [36] | Germany | multi-center, multiple data-sets, randomized/ not randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional/not interventional, nested matched pairs | Corpus: 105; 105; 58,5 CorpusRand: 31; 31; 55,1 | Corpus: 105; 105; 59,1 CorpusRand: 31; 31; 55,1 | corpus uteri cancer, IA-C, IIIa-IVb | conventional oncological therapy, Iscador | conventional oncological therapy | self-regulation |
Heiny 1991 [37] | Germanya | randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 25; 25; n/a | 21; 21; n/a | breast cancer, advanced | chemotherapy, Eurixor | chemotherapy, infusion of saline solution | QoL scale based on FLIC, self-assessment |
Heiny 1997/1998 [38] | Germanya | randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 38; 16; 54,7 | 41; 18; 53,2 | colorectal cancer, advanced | chemotherapy, Eurixor | chemotherapy | FACT-G |
Kaiser 2001 [39] | Germanya | randomized, 2 arms, blinded, interventional, cross-over | 29; 15; n/a in both arms | 29; 15; n/a in both arms | multiple cancer, n/a | n/a, AbnobaVISCUM Mali 4 | n/a, isotone puffer | ECOG |
Kim 2012 [40] | South Korea | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 16; 3; 53,8 | 16; 3; 54,9 | gastric cancer, Ib, II | waiting for chemotherapy, AbnobaVISCUM Q | waiting for chemotherapy | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Lange O, Scholz G, Gutsch J: Modulation of the subjective and objective toxicity of an aggressive chemoradiotherapy with Helixor [Modulation der subjektiven und objektiven Toxizität einer aggressiven Chemo/Radiotherapie mit Helixor], unpublished | Germany | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 35; 9; 58,3 | 33; 9; 60,2 | multiple cancer, n/a | conventional oncological therapy, Helixor A | conventional oncological therapy | KPI |
Lenartz 1996 [41] | Germanya | randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 18; 6; 52 | 17; 7; 52 | glioma, III-IV | conventional oncological therapy, mistletoe extract | conventional oncological therapy | Spitzer QoL |
Loewe-Mesch 2008 [42] | Germany | single-center, not randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 39; 39; 47,5 | 43; 43; 47,5 | breast cancer, TIa-c, TII | chemotherapy, Iscador M spezial | chemotherapy | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Longhi 2014 [52] | Italy | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 9; 5; 28 | 11; 4; 39 | osteosarcoma, IB-IIIB | Iscador P | Etoposide (oral) | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Piao 2004 [44] | China | multi-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 118; 91; 52,6 | 115; 91; 51,7 | multiple cancer, pTx, pT1–4 | chemotherapy, Helixor | chemotherapy, Lentinan (i.m.) | TCM, FLIC, KPI |
Semiglasov 2004 [45] | Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine | multi-center, randomized, 4 arms, blinded, interventional | 67; 67; 44,6 | 70; 70; 43,5 | breast cancer, pT1–3 | chemotherapy, Lektinol (PS76A) | chemotherapy, placebo | GLQ-8, Spitzer uniscale |
Semiglazov 2006 [46] | Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine | multi-center, randomized, 2 arms, blinded, interventional | 176; 176; 46,4 | 176; 176; 45,9 | breast cancer, pTis-pT3 | chemotherapy, Lektinol (PS76A) | chemotherapy, placebo | FACT-G, GLQ-8, Spitzer uniscale |
Steuer-Vogt 2006 [47] | Germany | multi-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 200; 17; 55 | 199; 14; 55 | head neck cancer, I-IV | surgery, Eurixor | surgery | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Tröger 2009 [48] | Serbia | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 30; 30; 48,4 | 31; 31; 50,8 | breast cancer, Tx, T1–3 | chemotherapy, Iscador M spezial | chemotherapy | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Tröger 2014a [49] | Serbia | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 34; 34; 50,4 | 31; 31; 50,8 | breast cancer, Tx, T1–3 | chemotherapy, Helixor | chemotherapy | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |
Tröger 2014b [50] | Serbia | single-center, randomized, 2 arms, unblinded, interventional | 110; 45; 62,2 | 110; 47; 64,4 | pancreatic cancer, T3-T4 | supportive care, Iscador Q | supportive care | EORTC-QLQ-C30 |