Efficacy of Ginger Use for Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Cancer Patients: Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting are the main undesired side effect that distress around 70 % to 80% of cancer patients. Ginger is often advocated as beneficial for nausea and vomiting, whether the herb is truly efficacious for this condition or not it is still a matter of debate. Objective: This scoping review is conducted to assess the effect of ginger usage on nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy amongst adult patients with cancer.Methodology: Databases searched include MEDLINE, CINHALE, PubMed and Google scholar for related articles between 2012 to 2019 was performed. After extensive review,188 studies were retrieved from the databases and only 15 studies found eligible according to applied inclusion and exclusion criteria. (14 randomized controlled trails, 1 pilot study) with a total of 1974 patients with different cancer types receiving emetogenic chemotherapy. Results:The majority of available evidence demonstrates that ginger is an effective, inexpensive and safe treatment for nausea and vomiting. Conclusion:Ginger supplementation can be potentially efficient effects on the patients who receives chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The results of this scoping review provide significant suggestions for further research using standardized ginger products and reflective larger sample sizes to confirm the efficacy of ginger extract supplement and optimal dosing regimens.