Alternative Medicine for Glioblastoma Patients

• December 5, 2024
• Written by :  Rebecca LaMarca, MSN, APN-BC, CNS

While there have been significant medical advances that have marginally increased the survival rate of glioblastoma in the past 15 years,¹ GBM patients have still struggled to find results from traditional cancer treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.² With that lack of success, multiple studies have cited the increase in alternative medicine treatments for glioblastoma. In this blog, we’ll further examine those alternative medicine approaches to treating GBM.

What is glioblastoma?

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive types of cancer. It starts as a growth of cells that form in the brain or spinal cord and attack healthy tissue. According to the Mayo Clinic, “glioblastoma forms from cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells.”³

Helleborus niger as glioblastoma treatment

Helleborus niger, also known as Christmas rose, is a “perennial herb with a shallow rhizome blossoming during winter,” according to a 2019 study from a team of German researchers published in the journal “BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies.”⁴

For hundreds of years, the plant has been used as a healing remedy for a range of health conditions. More recently, it’s gained significance in pharmacology because of its makeup, including the steroidal saponins, ranunculin derivatives, beta-ecdysone and flavonoids, the study says.

The study, which evaluated the safety of helleborus niger using Ames and hemolytic tests, concluded that the plant did not have genotoxic or hemolytic potential. “The present investigations verify the anti-angiogenetic effects on [human umbilical vein endothelial cells], the anti-proliferative effects and migration-inhibiting properties on tumor cells,” the study said.

Ozone for glioblastoma

In a study from a team of German researchers called “Intra-tumoral treatment with oxygen-ozone in glioblastoma: A systematic literature search and results of a case series,” five patients diagnosed with GB and seeking treatment at the Klinikum Amberg were offered and agreed to ozone therapy in conjunction with their cancer treatment.⁵ The team conducted the study from January 2012 to December 2013.

Though it’s a small sample size with other limitations acknowledged by the authors, the study had a median survival rate of 40 months, more than a year longer than the data from a multicenter study published in 2016.

Other alternative medicine treatments for glioblastoma

In a survey of glioblastoma patients conducted by the Mayo Clinic over the course of six months in 2019-20, 81% of respondents said they use some form of complementary and integrative medicine treatment. The most popular was meditation, with 21% of respondents saying they meditate. Homeopathy and naturopathy were used by 11% and 10% of respondents, respectively.⁶

“Mind–body interventions may help mitigate some of the negative effects of stress associated with the diagnosis and treatment,” the study said.

REFERENCES

1. Park, J. K., Hodges, T., Arko, L., Shen, M., Iacono, D. D., McNabb, A., Bailey, N. O., Kreisl, T. N., Iwamoto, F. M., Sul, J., Auh, S., Park, G. E., Fine, H. A., & Black, P. M. (2010). Scale to predict survival after surgery for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 28(24), 3838–3843. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2010.30.0582
2. Vengoji, R., Macha, M. A., Batra, S. K., & Shonka, N. A. (2018). Natural products: a hope for glioblastoma patients. Oncotarget, 9(31), 22194–22219. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.25175
3. Glioblastoma – Symptoms and causes. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/glioblastoma/symptoms-causes/syc-20569077
4. Felenda, J. E., Turek, C., Mörbt, N., Herrick, A., Müller, M. B., & Stintzing, F. C. (2019). Preclinical evaluation of safety and potential of black hellebore extracts for cancer treatment. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-019-2517-5
5. Megele, R., Riemenschneider, M., Dodoo‑Schittko, F., Feyrer, M., & Kleindienst, A. (2018). Intra‑tumoral treatment with oxygen‑ozone in glioblastoma: A systematic literature search and results of a case series. Oncology Letters. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.9397

Munoz-Casabella, A., Wahner-Roedler, D. L., Croghan, I. T., Petterson, T. M., Fuehrer, D. L., & Bauer, B. A. (2022). Use of complementary and integrative medicine among patients with glioblastoma multiforme seen at a tertiary care center. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 11, 2164957X2210785. https://doi.org/10.1177/2164957×221078543

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