Advances in clinical studies on anti-tumour and supportive care effects of specific mistletoe preparations: Viscum album [L.] extract therapy versus no antineoplastic therapy in patients with locally advanced or metastat

3^rd International Conference on Tissue Science & Regenerative Medicine

September 24-26, 2014 Valencia Convention Centre, Spain

Daniel Galun

Accepted Abstracts: J Tissue Sci Eng

Abstract :

Introduction: The patients with advanced pancreatic cancer have dismal prognosis. When deciding on specific treatment the impact on the quality of life should be taken into account. Objectives: To compare overall survival (OS) and quality of life (QoL) of patients with locally advanced or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas receiving Viscum album (L.) (VaL) or no antineoplastic therapy. Methods: The efficacy of VaL (Iscador®Qu special) was tested by a randomized clinical trial including 220 patients. Primary endpoint was OS observed over 12 month. Secondary efficacy parameters included all15 QoL-dimensions of the EORTC QLQ- C30. Tumour-related symptoms and body weight were recorded at each visit. Results: Median OS of VaL versus control was 4.8 vs. 2.7 months (HRadjusted=0.485; p<0.0001). A significant advantage of VaL was observed for 13 of the 15 QoL dimensions (p0.001), with 10 dimensions showing a clinically relevant improvement of ≥ 10 units. Analysis of tumour-related symptoms, and change in body weight (post-hoc), confirmed the favourable effects on QoL. No VaL-related adverse event (AE) or serious AE were observed. Conclusions: VaL therapy led to a relevant increase of OS and quality of life without causing any side-effects. VaL may provide a comprehensive second-line therapy for advanced pancreatic cancer patients