During the past 80 years, plant extracts of the European mistletoe Viscum album L. have been widely used for cancer treatment in European countries. Preclinical data suggest immunostimulatory and other immunomodulatory effects of this plant extract. In clinical practice, mistletoe extracts have been used in cancer patients as sole intervention or as adjunct to conventional cancer therapies. Clinical efficacy in the treatment of cancer is an area of active investigation, with inconclusive results to date, due in large part to the use of varying preparations, concentrations, study populations and regimens. Moreover, little is known about the toxicity of mistletoe and the potential for botanical and drug interactions between mistletoe extract and standard chemotherapeutic agents. Gemcitabine is an approved antimetabolite chemotherapeutic agent with demonstrated single agent efficacy in the treatment of a wide range of solid tumors. Because the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of gemcitabine are well characterized, it is a chemotherapeutic agent well suited for the study of botanical/drug interactions in cancer therapy. The goals of this study are to investigate in a two-step phase I dose escalation design the effect of a highly purified mistletoe extract on the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety of gemcitabine.. Pharmacokinetic toxicity profiles of gemcitabine in combination with mistletoe, neutrophil recovery, cytokine gene expression, and serum levels of markers of immune activation will be investigated in 40-50 patients with advanced solid tumors. The study aims at establishing a paradigm for the investigation of botanicals used in conjunction with standard cancer chemotherapy in complementary cancer medicine. To date, stage I of the study has been completed after enrollment of 20 patients without observing any DLT. Stage II of the study was initiated on 5/2005. A total of 27 patients have been enrolled . One DLT for gemcitabine (grade 4 neutropenia) has been observed at the gemcitabine dose level 6 (900 mg/m2). Therefore the dose level 6 cohort has been expanded to 6 patients. 4 patient had a partial response to therapy sustained for at least 3 cycles, 6 patients had stable disease on therapy for more than 9 weeks.
| Mansky, Patrick J; Koh, Joyce M (2006) Botanicals in pediatric leukemia: potential and pitfalls. Pediatr Blood Cancer 46:8-10 |
| Mansky, Patrick J; Grem, Jean; Wallerstedt, Dawn B et al. (2003) Mistletoe and gemcitabine in patients with advanced cancer: a model for the phase I study of botanicals and botanical-drug interactions in cancer therapy. Integr Cancer Ther 2:345-52 |
| Mansky, Patrick J (2002) Mistletoe and cancer: controversies and perspectives. Semin Oncol 29:589-94 |
