Ginger supplements curb chemo-related nausea

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ginger supplements given three days before chemotherapy, in combination with convetional antiemetics, significantly reduces chemotherapy-related nausea in cancer patients, according to results of a study funded by the National Cancer Institute.

The study, the largest to date evaluating the effects of ginger on chemotherapy-related nausea, will be presented June 1 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

At a pre-meeting press briefing Thursday, principal investigator Dr. Julie Ryan of the University of Rochester Medical Center, New York, said: "Despite widespread use of antiemetics, chemotherapy-related nausea continues to be reported in more than 70% of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. For many years, ginger has been used to treat gastrointestinal upset such as nausea."

The study, carried out in 23 private oncology practices in the US, included 644 cancer patients who experienced nausea following any baseline chemotherapy cycle and were scheduled to receive at least three additional chemotherapy cycles. The most common types of cancer were breast cancer, alimentary cancer and lung cancer.

Patients were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or ginger capsules (0.5 g, 1.0 g or 1.5 g daily) for six days, starting three days before the first day of chemotherapy. All patients received standard antiemetic therapy on the first day of chemotherapy.

"Most patients report the most severe nausea on day one of chemotherapy so we examined the change in nausea in the four study arms on day one," Dr. Ryan explained.

All doses of ginger led to a statistically significant reduction in nausea compared to placebo (p = 0.003), Dr. Ryan reported. "The largest reduction in nausea occurred with 0.5 grams and 1.0 gram of ginger, which was about a 40% reduction in nausea."

Summing up, Dr. Ryan said this study shows that ginger supplementation is "an effective tool against chemotherapy-related nausea...and reduced nausea will lead to improved quality of life in many cancer patients during chemotherapy."

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