Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients.

PURPOSE: Despite the widespread use of antiemetics, nausea continues to be reported by over 70% of patients receiving chemotherapy. METHODS: In this double blind, multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 744 cancer patients to four arms: 1) placebo, 2) 0.5 g ginger, 3) 1.0 g ginger, or 4) 1.5 g ginger. Nausea occurrence and severity were assessed at a baseline cycle and the two following cycles during which patients were taking their assigned study medication. All patients received a 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist antiemetic on Day 1 of all cycles. Patients took three capsules of ginger (250 mg) or placebo twice daily for 6 days starting 3 days before the first day of chemotherapy. Patients reported the severity of nausea on a 7-point rating scale ("1" = "Not at all Nauseated" and "7" = "Extremely Nauseated") for Days 1-4 of each cycle. The primary outcomes were to determine the dose and efficacy of ginger at reducing the severity of chemotherapy-induced nausea on Day 1 of chemotherapy. RESULTS: A total of 576 patients were included in final analysis (91% female, mean age = 53). Mixed model analyses demonstrated that all doses of ginger significantly reduced acute nausea severity compared to placebo on Day 1 of chemotherapy (p = 0.003). The largest reduction in nausea intensity occurred with 0.5 g and 1.0 g of ginger (p = 0.017 and p = 0.036, respectively). Anticipatory nausea was a key factor in acute chemotherapy-induced nausea (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Ginger supplementation at a daily dose of 0.5 g-1.0 g significantly aids in reduction of the severity of acute chemotherapy-induced nausea in adult cancer patients.

Exploratory analysis of the usefulness of acupressure bands when severe chemotherapy-related nausea is expected.

The present study examines the efficacy of acupressure wristbands, compared with standard care alone and acustimulation wristbands, in preventing severe nausea among 86 breast cancer patients receiving doxorubicin-based chemotherapy who were at high risk of experiencing severe nausea following treatment. Significant differences in the proportion of patients who reported severe nausea were observed across three conditions (standard care, standard care with acupressure bands, and standard care with an acustimulation band). The proportion of patients in the acupressure band group who reported severe nausea following their chemotherapy treatment (41%) was significantly less than that of the standard care group (68%) and the acustimulation band group (73%). Overall, these findings showed that acupressure wristbands were efficacious and may be an appropriate form of adjuvant therapy for nausea management for breast cancer patients, especially those who are most at risk for experiencing severe nausea following chemotherapy treatment.

Acustimulation wrist bands are not effective for the control of chemotherapy-induced nausea in women with breast cancer.

This experiment examined the efficacy of an acustimulation wrist band for the relief of chemotherapy-induced nausea using a randomized three-arm clinical trial (active acustimulation, sham acustimulation, and no acustimulation) in 96 women with breast cancer who experienced nausea at their first chemotherapy treatment. Five outcomes related to wrist band efficacy (acute nausea, delayed nausea, vomiting, QOL, and total amount of antiemetic medication used) were examined. The five outcomes were examined separately using analysis of covariance controlling for age and severity of past nausea. There were no significant differences in any of these study measures among the three treatment conditions (P>0.1 for all). Study results do not support the hypothesis that acustimulation bands are efficacious as an adjunct to pharmacological antiemetics for control of chemotherapy-related nausea in female breast cancer patients.

The efficacy of acupressure and acustimulation wrist bands for the relief of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. A University of Rochester Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program multicenter study.

As an adjunct to standard antiemetics for the relief of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (NV), 739 patients were randomly assigned to either: 1) acupressure bands, 2) an acustimulation band, or 3) a no band control condition. Patients in the acupressure condition experienced less nausea on the day of treatment compared to controls (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in delayed nausea or vomiting among the three treatment conditions. Additional analyses revealed pronounced gender differences. Men in the acustimulation condition, but not the acupressure condition, had less NV compared to controls (P<0.05). No significant differences among the three treatment conditions were observed in women, although the reduction in nausea on the day of treatment in the acupressure, compared to the no band condition, closely approached statistical significance (P=0.052). Expected efficacy of the bands was related to outcomes for the acupressure but not the acustimulation conditions.