Ginger helps post-chemotherapy nausea in cancer patients

18 May 2009

Ginger, used as a herbal medicine by many households in India for treating various ailments, can also help cancer patients reduce post-chemotherapy nausea by 40 per cent, along with standard anti-vomiting drugs, before undergoing treatment, say scientists at the University of Rochester Medical centre.

About 70 per cent of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy complain of nausea and vomiting. ''There are effective drugs to control vomiting, but the nausea is often worse because it lingers,'' said lead author Julie L. Ryan, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Dermatology and Radiation Oncology at Rochester's James P Wilmot Cancer Centre.

The research will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in the Patient and Survivor Care Session on Saturday, 30 May, in Orlando, Florida.
''Nausea is a major problem for people who undergo chemotherapy and it's been a challenge for scientists and doctors to understand how to control it,'' said, Ryan a member of Rochester's Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base at the Wilmot Cancer Center.

Her research is the largest randomised study to demonstrate the effectiveness of ginger supplements to ease the nausea. Previous small studies have been inconsistent and never focused on taking the common spice before chemotherapy.

The Phase II/III placebo-controlled, double-blind study included 644 cancer patients who would receive at least three chemotherapy treatments. They were divided into four arms that received placebos, 0.5 gram of ginger, 1 gram of ginger, or 1.5 grams of ginger along with antiemetics, like anti-vomiting drugs such as Zofran, Kytril, Novaban, and Anzemet.

Patients took the ginger supplements three days prior to chemotherapy and three days following treatment. Patients reported nausea levels at various times of day during following their chemotherapy and those who took the lower doses had a 40 per cent reduction.