American Ginseng May Help Fight Cancer-Related Fatigue
Lee Swanson Research Update
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most common unmanaged symptom in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, or have completed cancer therapy.
Researchers throughout the country, working through the Mayo Clinic, investigated the potential of three doses of American ginseng root for alleviating CRF and found some success.
Two-hundred ninety patients with CRF were included in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center study. The patients were divided into four groups and were given either placebo or 750 mg, 1,000 mg or 2,000 mg of American ginseng per day.
Researchers reported no statistical differences between the placebo and ginseng groups on the primary or secondary endpoints. However, for the primary efficacy endpoint, there was a trend for greater positive effects with the highest dose of ginseng compared with placebo. Also, the highest dose was more effective than the other doses and more effective than placebo at improving vitality and quality of life.
Compared with the placebo group, more than twice as many patients in the 1,000 mg and 2,000 mg per day groups perceived a "moderate" to "very much better" improvement in fatigue at study end. In addition, more patients treated with 1,000 mg and 2,000 mg doses were satisfied with their treatment for fatigue than those treated with placebo.
Study authors concluded that 1,000 mg and 2,000 mg per day of American ginseng decreased fatigue more than placebo. They state that the most compelling evidence is the patient-reported improvement. Further, it is also compelling that there were no significant toxicities in the ginseng groups compared with the placebo group.
Support Care Cancer Published online ahead of print.