Melanomas in situ (MIS) are difficult to diagnose as they lack well-established, dermoscopic descriptors. In numerous clinical cases, there are no definitive differentiating criteria between atypical nevus and melanoma in situ. So far, no digital dermoscopic criteria have been developed which can clearly distinguish atypical naevi from MIS. It is necessary to search for predictors of MIS and cl...

Photographs of mistletoe (Viscum album L.) berries taken by a permanently fixed camera during their development in autumn were subjected to an outline shape analysis by fitting path curves using a mathematical algorithm from projective geometry. During growth and maturation processes the shape of mistletoe berries can be described by a set of such path curves, making it possible to extract chan...

OBJECTIVE To provide further evidence for the ethnomedicinal use of the Eastern Nigeria mistletoe, Loranthus micranthus (L. micranthus), as an immunostimulant. METHODS Solvent fractions from the crude extract of the mistletoe plant was obtained and screened by the cell mediated delayed type hypersensitivity reaction (DTHR) model in mice. Then the immunomodulatory potentials of a major lupane ...

This article reviews lectins of animal and plant origin that induce apoptosis and autophagy of cancer cells and hence possess the potential of being developed into anticancer drugs. Apoptosis-inducing lectins encompass galectins, C-type lectins, annexins, Haliotis discus discus lectin, Polygonatum odoratum lectin, mistletoe lectin, and concanavalin A, fucose-binding Dicentrarchus labrax lectin,...

Loranthus europaeus is one of the major plant parasites threatening fragile ecosystems oak forests in western Iran. The mistletoe a hemi-parasite which grows on forest species, especially oaks. Carbon isotope composition (?13C) has been central to understand behaviour mistletoes field. This study investigated C and N compositions leaves L. its host oaks (Quercus libani, Q. infectoria brantii) g...

Non-selected tumor patients (n=12) with various solid carcinomas were treated continuously twice weekly over 48 weeks with the aqueous mistletoe extract PS76A2, standardized to active mistletoe lectin. The preparation was applied subcutaneously at a concentration of 15 ng mistletoe lectin per 0.5 ml. Cellular immune response and safety were determined at various times during and after the thera...

BACKGROUND Adjuvant intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment after resection of non invasive superficial bladder cancer has been shown to significantly decrease tumor recurrence. However, the serious local and systemic side-effects of this treatment have promoted the use of other immunoactive substances, which, to date, have all failed to show efficacy equal to BCG therapy. PATIE...

BACKGROUND Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) affects a majority of patients (pts) with symptoms lasting up to several years after finishing therapy. These symptoms lead to decreased health related quality of life. Fatigue during treatment for colorectal cancer is common, but poorly understood and can affect compliance with post-surgical cancer therapy. We examined the fatigue levels during first-lin...