Ultradiluted Viscum album in the Treatment of Melanoma in a Dog (Canis familiaris) – Case Report

Introduction: Melanoma is the sixth most common leading cancer worldwide and its incidence is continuously rising. The management of patients with melanoma has been historically challenging, with extremely low survival rate. Thus, the emergence of innovative treatments becomes a necessity. Homeopathy, introduced by Hahnemann, becomes an interesting treatment option, especially taking into account the levels of similarity. Ultradiluted Viscum album (mistletoe) has been used, based on the anatomic-pathological similitude model for cancer control. The aim of this work involves the treatment of melanoma in a dog, through peri-tumoral subcutaneous applications of ultradiluted mistletoe.

Material and Methods: A 10-year-old male non-pedigree dog, weighing 22 kg, attended the NaturalPet Vet Clinic, in Brasilia, Brazil, in August 2018. Physical examination showed a black skin wound, 2 cm in diameter, in the medial face of the scapula, present for 2 days. Material for biopsy was collected. The patient was medicated with V. album D3, peri-tumoral subcutaneously, every 7 days for 4 weeks. After that time the animal was medicated with V. album D3, D6, D9, D12, D30 in combination, 3 times per week.

Results: The biopsy revealed melanocytic melanoma. A reduction of the wound was observed at the end of 4 weeks. The patient was periodically assisted and returned to the veterinarian’s office once a month for a follow-up analysis. At the time of writing, after 6 months of treatment, the animal remains unchanged and in perfect health.

Conclusion: V. album proved to be an important therapeutic tool for the treatment of canine melanocytic melanoma: the therapy significantly reduced the wound manifestation of the disease, with no side effects such as leucopenia. Throughout the treatment period the patient remained without physical, hematological and biochemical alterations. The patient’s overall health was preserved, and the quality of life was improved, with no alterations similar to the original lesion. However, further studies are needed to fully understand how homeopathic medicines act in the treatment of this disease.

Keywords: Mistletoe, cancer, homeopathy