Until recently, the uses for mistletoe were limited to livening up a holiday party. However, a new study conducted at the University of Canberra in Australia has found a potential new use for the plant, and cancer researchers claim that the parasitic mistletoe plant may be useful in treating certain types of cancer.

Dr. Ljubov Simson of the University of Canberra’s Cancer Immunotherapy Group stated that mistletoe is already used to treat cancer in Germany, and has been conducting laboratory testing that has “confirmed” the plant’s ability to “stimulate the body’s immune system” to kill cancerous cells.

In fact, says Dr. Simson, mistletoe kills cancerous cells without damaging healthy surrounding cells.

“We’re finding that it is killing the tumor cells but we’re actually not getting any killing in terms of the healthy cells,” Dr. Simson stated.

How does mistletoe know to only target harmful cancer cells? “We really don’t have an answer for that at this stage,” said Dr. Simson.

According to their tests, mistletoe killed off approximately 80 percent of a cancerous tumor. Mistletoe apparently triggers coagulation, or formation of blood clots, and in addition, it also “breaks apart” cancer cells and activates the eosinophil, or sub-class of healthy white blood cells. The eosinophil activation, according to Dr. Simson, is what makes this plant a potentially effective type of cancer treatment.

It is important to note, however, that mistletoe is considered to be a parasitic plant, which means that it contains toxins. Because of this, the dosage of mistletoe that would be safe for cancer patients to receive will have to be studied further.

Dr. Simson and her team are hopeful that mistletoe will be approved for cancer treatment by the Theraputic Goods Administration, the Australian version of our Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In addition, researchers hope that this may be a potential new treatment for patients suffering from mesothelioma cancer, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that affects thousands both in Australia and in the U.S.

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