How can Artemisia annua and artemisinin help you? What the research says

Authors

Clinical reviewer

Meghan Zech, ND, FABNO

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Last update: September 29, 2026

We summarize the clinical evidence for each medical benefit here. We begin with our assessment of the strength of evidence within each category, followed by a brief summary of individual studies or reviews of several studies. In assessing the strength of evidence, we consider the study design, number of participants, and the size of the treatment effect (how much outcomes changed with treatment).

To see more details, click the plus sign to the right of any section.

Our assessments of evidence for each medical benefit fall into one of these categories:

Strong evidence: consistent, significant effects in several large (or at least one very large) well designed clinical studies or at least two meta-analysesa statistical analysis that combines the results of two or more research studies; the results of smaller research studies addressing the same or similar questions can be analyzed as though they are one bigger, more powerful study of clinical studies of moderate or better quality (or one large meta-analysis) finding similar results
Good evidence: significant effects in one large or several mid-sized and well-designed clinical studies ( randomized controlled trialsa study design in which people are randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group to compare the outcomes from different treatments; an RCT is considered a strong design for determining a therapy’s effects with an appropriate placebo or other strong comparison control or observational studies that control for confounds)
Modest evidence: significant effects in at least three small but well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs), or one or more well-designed, mid-sized clinical studies of reasonably good quality (RCTs or observationala type of study in which individuals are observed or certain outcomes are measured, but no attempt is made to affect the outcome (for example, no treatment is given); an example is a study that records people’s diets, but doesn’t try to alter their diets, and looks for patterns of disease or other outcomes related to different foods studies), or several small studies aggregated into a meta-analysis
Preliminary evidence: significant effects in small or poorly designed clinical studies OR conflicting results in adequate studies but a preponderance of evidence of an effect
Weak evidence: one or more case studies, supported by animal evidence OR small treatment effects of limited clinical significance OR studies with no controls OR weak trends of effects
Insufficient evidence: preclinical evidence only OR clinical studies with such poor or unclear methodology that no conclusion can be drawn OR conflicting findings across clinical studies with no preponderance of evidence in one direction; conflicting evidence occurs when studies find conflicting effects (positive effect vs no effect or negative effect) with the same treatment and the same general study population (same cancer type, for example)

Learn more about how we research and rate therapies and practices in How We Rate Therapies ›

Artemisia/artemisinin research strengths:

There are some randomized controlled trials examining associations between artemisia/artemisinin-derived drugs and cancer treatment outcomes.

Artemisia/artemisinin research weaknesses:

There is very little clinical research on how artemisia or artemisinin-derived drugs might affect cancer risk, contribute to managing side effects, or make your body less hospitable to cancer.

Improving treatment outcomes

Is Artemisia annua linked to improved survival? Is it linked to less cancer growth or metastasis? Does it enhance the anticancer action of other treatments or therapies? We present the evidence.

Weak evidenceone or more case studies, supported by animal evidence OR small treatment effects of limited clinical significance OR studies with no controls OR weak trends of effects (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of short-term tumor response in a person with prostate cancer treated with Artemisia annua L capsules combined with conventional treatment

Weak evidence of temporary clinical effect in two people with skin cancer treated with artesunate combined with conventional treatment

Weak evidence of slowed disease progression but no improvement in 1-year survival among people with lung cancer treated with artesunate

Weak evidence of some clinical benefit among people with cervical cancer treated with artenimol-R

Weak evidence of no effect on cancer cell proliferation among people with colorectal cancer treated with artesunate

Weak evidence of some clinical benefit among people with brain cancer treated with artesunate

Brain cancer

Weak evidence of positive clinical effect among people with aggressive brain cancer treated with artesunate

Colorectal cancer

Weak evidence of no change in cancer cell proliferation among people with colorectal cancer treated with artesunate

Gynecologic cancer

Weak evidence of some better prognostic markers among people with cervical cancer treated with artenimol-R

Lung cancer

Weak evidence of better time to disease progression but no evidence of improved 1-year survival among people with non small-cell lung cancer treated with artesunate

Melanoma and other skin cancers

Weak evidence of better response to chemotherapy among 2 people with metastatic uveal melanoma treated with artesunate

Prostate cancer

Weak evidence of short-term tumor response in a person with prostate cancer treated with bicalutamide for 14 days and oral Artemisia annua L capsules long-term

Optimizing your body terrain

Does Artemisia annua promote an environment within your body that is less supportive of cancer development, growth, or spread? We present the evidence.

Weak evidenceone or more case studies, supported by animal evidence OR small treatment effects of limited clinical significance OR studies with no controls OR weak trends of effects (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of increased immune response among people with HIV treated with artesunate

Modest evidencesignificant effects in at least three small but well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs), or one or more well-designed, mid-sized clinical studies of reasonably good quality (RCTs or observational studies), or several small studies aggregated into a meta-analysis (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of lower inflammation among people with rheumatoid arthritis treated with Artemisia annua extract

See Optimizing Your Body Terrain ›

Find medical professionals who specialize in managing body terrain factors: Finding Integrative Oncologists and Other Practitioners ›

Immune function

Increased immune system activation is not always beneficial, so your oncology team needs to determine whether immune activation would be favorable in your situation.

Weak evidence of an increase of immune response among HIV-positive people treated with artesunate

Inflammation

Modest evidence of a lower marker of inflammation among people with active rheumatoid arthritis treated with extract of Artemisia annua L.

Managing side effects and promoting wellness

Is Artemisia annua linked to fewer or less severe side effects or symptoms? Is it linked to less toxicity from cancer treatment? Does it support your quality of life or promote general well-being? We present the evidence.

Weak evidenceone or more case studies, supported by animal evidence OR small treatment effects of limited clinical significance OR studies with no controls OR weak trends of effects (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of less pain and vaginal discharge among people with cervical cancer treated with artenimol-R

Pain

Weak evidence of less pain from cervical cancer among people with adenocarcinoma of the cervix treated with artenimol-R

Other symptoms and side effects

Weak evidence of less vaginal discharge from cervical cancer among people with adenocarcinoma of the cervix treated with artenimol-R

Reducing cancer risk

Is Artemisia annua linked to lower risks of developing cancer or of recurrence? We present the evidence.

Prostate cancer

Weak evidenceone or more case studies, supported by animal evidence OR small treatment effects of limited clinical significance OR studies with no controls OR weak trends of effects (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of no effect on risk of recurrence for one person with prostate cancer treated with artesunate

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References[+]

1	Strik H, Efferth T, Kaina B. Artesunate in glioblastoma therapy: Case reports and review of clinical studies. Phytomedicine. 2024 Jan:123:155274.
2	Krishna S, Ganapathi S et al. A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of oral artesunate therapy for colorectal cancer. EBioMedicine. 2014 Nov 15;2(1):82-90.
3, 9, 10	Jansen FH, Adoubi I et al. First study of oral Artenimol-R in advanced cervical cancer: clinical benefit, tolerability and tumor markers. Anticancer Research. 2011 Dec;31(12):4417-22.
4	Zhang ZY, Yu SQ et al. [Artesunate combined with vinorelbine plus cisplatin in treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a randomized controlled trial]. [Article in Chinese]. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2008 Feb;6(2):134-8.
5	Berger TG, Dieckmann D et al. Artesunate in the treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma—first experiences. Oncology Reports. 2005 Dec;14(6):1599-603.
6	Michaelsen FW, Saeed ME, Schwarzkopf J, Efferth T. Activity of Artemisia annua and artemisinin derivatives, in prostate carcinoma. Phytomedicine. 2015 Dec 15;22(14):1223-31.
7	Chen S, Xu Q, Wang J, Tan X. Effects of artesunate tablet on immune activation and reconstitution among highly active antiretroviral therapy-treated patients with incomplete immune responses. AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 2022 Feb;38(2):100-110.
8	Yang M, Guo MY et al. Effect of Artemisia annua extract on treating active rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2017 Jul;23(7):496-503.
11	Michaelsen FW, Saeed ME, Schwarzkopf J, Efferth T. Activity of Artemisia annua and artemisinin derivatives, in prostate carcinoma. Phytomedicine. 2015 Dec 15;22(14):1223-31.

Artemisia Annua (Sweet Wormwood) and Artemisinin for Cancer