Impact of complementary treatment of breast cancer patients with standardized mistletoe extract during aftercare: a controlled m

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Anticancer Res. 2008 Jan-Feb;28(1B):523-7. Impact of complementary treatment of breast cancer patients with standardized mistletoe extract during aftercare: a controlled multicenter comparative epidemiological cohort study. Beuth J, Schneider B, Schierholz JM. Institut zur wissenschaftlichen Evaluation naturheilkundlicher Verfahren an der Universität zu Köln, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9, 50931 Köln, Germany. Hans.Beuth@uk-koeln.de OBJECTIVES: To investigate the safety and efficacy of complementary treatment of breast cancer patients with the standardized mistletoe extract (sME) HELIXOR in routine practice during aftercare through a multicenter comparative epidemiological cohort study with 53 randomly selected hospitals/practices representatively distributed in Germany, including oncologists, gynaecologists and general practitioners. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from 741 screened patients fulfilling the inclusion/exclusion criteria were checked. Of these, 681 patients were eligible for the final analysis of the study group (with sME n = 167) and the control group (n = 514). Efficacy (development of disease/therapy-induced signs and symptoms; quality of life) and safety (number and severity of adverse events) of complementary treatment in breast cancer patients treated with sME in the aftercare period were determined. RESULTS: Complementary treatment of breast cancer patients with sME during the aftercare period of approximately 5 years after terminating recommended standard therapies resulted in significantly fewer (p