Israel's Rambam Hospital is developing a new preparation based on mistletoe that significantly improves the quality of life for cancer patients.

 Israel's Rambam Hospital is developing a new preparation based on mistletoe that significantly improves the quality of life for cancer patients.

Radiation and chemotherapy are common cancer treatments, but many patients find the side effects, like extreme nausea, unpleasant. Rambam's researchers have found that injecting patients with mistletoe extract can reduce the treatment's symptoms, according to a statement from the hospital.

Under the direction of Dr. Gil Bar Sela, head of the Unit for Supportive Oncological Treatment, 40 patients received injections of mistletoe extract three times a week, while another 40 did not.

According to interim results, the extract significantly reduced chemo-caused symptoms in all the patients tested.

In a related test, other patients afflicted with colon cancer, who did not respond well to other treatments to lessen side effects of chemotherapy, showed a 40 percent improvement in their symptoms.

While mistletoe preparations are used widely among cancer patients in central Europe, they are not yet a standard part of oncological treatment in Israel.

At a day-long seminary last month, Rambam also presented its vision of the future of the operating rooms.

The seminar focused on the fast progression of robotics used in surgery, including improvements like wireless equipment to allow surgeons more mobility, and a much greater reliance on robotic assistance.

Speakers at the seminar said that operating rooms of 2030 could be have more robots than humans operating on a patient, according to the press release.

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