Ginger Helps Curb Chemotherapy-induced Nausea
September 16, 2009
ORLANDO - Ginger supplements in addition to antiemetic therapy significantly reduces the severity of chemotherapy-induced nausea starting on the first day of chemotherapy, said Julie Ryan, PhD, at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
"Despite the widespread use of antiemetics, chemotherapy-related nausea continues to be reported in more than 70% of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy," she said.
Ryan and her colleagues conducted a study carried out in 23 oncology practices nationwide. Cancer patients who experienced nausea following any chemotherapy cycle and were scheduled for at least three additional cycles were included in the study. A total of 644 cancer patients were randomized into one of four arms: placebo or 0.5-g, 1.0-g, or 1.5-g daily doses of ginger in capsular form. The most common types of cancer were breast (66%), alimentary (6.5%), and lung (6.1%).
Nausea was assessed at a baseline chemotherapy cycle. The patients were then randomized to ginger or placebo for the following two cycles. Patients reported their degree of nausea four times during the day (morning, afternoon, evening, and night) on a seven-point scale.
All patients received standard 5-hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonist antiemetics on day 1 of all chemotherapy cycles. Ginger or placebo was started 3 days before the start of the chemotherapy cycle and was continued for 6 days.
The change in nausea on day 1 was examined. All doses of ginger significantly reduced nausea (P = .003) compared with placebo in both study cycles. "The largest reduction in nausea occurred with 0.5 g and 1.0 g of ginger, about a 40% reduction in [the severity of] nausea (P = .003)," said Ryan, assistant professor of dermatology and radiation oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, New York. "Additionally, we observed a statistically significant linear decrease in nausea over 24 hours. This trend is more pronounced and easily observed at day 1 on study cycle 3."
One gram of ginger is equivalent to about one-half teaspoon. "The effective doses were one-half teaspoon to one-fourth teaspoon of ground ginger," she said.
"It's important to note that all the patients participating in this study received standard antiemetic treatment," said Douglas Blayney, MD, ASCO president-elect and medical director and clinical professor of medicine, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor. "It's an interesting and rigorous study in the field of complementary medicine and an important step forward in improving quality of care for the 70% of patients who undergo chemotherapy and experience nausea and vomiting."
-Wayne Kuznar
