Integrative Oncology
Integrative oncology forms the synthesis of current standard therapies with anthroposophical as well as other complementary medicine treatments in cancer therapy. The concept of integrative medicine coincides with the principle of anthroposophic medicine, which fully recognises university medicine and sees itself as an extension of university medicine with the methods of anthroposophy. The integration of standard therapies, anthroposophical extensions as well as other complementary medicine treatments is intended to provide the patient with the greatest possible freedom of choice for the preservation of human freedom and self-development.
Aims
The primary aim of research for integrative oncology at the Carl Gustav Carus-Institut is to explore the possibilities for healing and improving the quality of life for cancer patients through mistletoe therapy. This goal is pursued through clinical and preclinical research. In clinical research, one focus is the investigation of mistletoe therapy in everyday clinical practice. This line of research is usually referred to as care research because it examines patient care in combination with many different treatments and accompanying creative therapies as well as caring treatments. In this way, care research differs from clinical registration trials, in which patients are treated with only one specific drug to prove its efficacy in comparison to control groups such as the previous standard therapy, which requires randomisation, i.e. random assignment to one of the comparison groups.
In preclinical research, the spectrum of effects of mistletoe therapy is being investigated, which has a very wide range, since mistletoe has both a cytotoxic effect on the tumour and induces fever, thus stimulating the self-healing powers. The effects of mistletoe are to be elucidated through laboratory investigations in order to improve the healing possibilities through further developments of the drug preparation and the treatment modalities. For the scientific discussion and dissemination of the clinical and pharmaceutical results of mistletoe therapy, Dr. Rainer Scheer has created an internationally esteemed platform by establishing the Mistletoe Symposia, which take place every four years.
Staff
Members of research projects in integrative oncology:
- Dr. Christoph Heyder, Biotechnologist
- Dr. Gero Leneweit, Physicist
Responsible for the organisation of the Mistelsymposium:
- Dr. Rainer Scheer
Partners
- Klinik Öschelbronn
- Gemeinschaftspraxis AnthroMed Öschelbronn
- Forschungsinstitut Havelhöhe am Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, Berlin
- Universität Uppsala, Schweden, Abteilung Angeborene Immunologie
- Universität Utrecht, Niederlande, Fakultät für Pharmazie
- Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Institut für Infektionsprävention und Krankenhaushygiene, Uni-Zentrum Naturheilkunde
Projects
- Preparation of a Phase I study on intravenous mistletoe therapy
- Preparation of an appliance study for the analysis of γδ T-cell activation of patients with malignant tumour disease by treatment with mistletoe preparations
- Preparation of preclinical studies for the treatment of glioblastoma with innovative liposomal drugs
References
You can find a list of references here.