Comparison of the Complications of Platinum-Based Adjuvant Chemotherapy With and Without Ginger in a Pilot Study on Ovarian Cancer Patients

The principal treatment of ovarian cancer is surgery with or without chemotherapy. The chemotherapy, however, might be ineffective and long with serious side-effects. To obviate these shortcomings, more efficient and safer medications are required, among which ginger has recently gained popularity because of its anti-cancer properties. This study aims to compare outcomes and side-effects of adjuvant chemotherapy with and without ginger in ovarian cancer patients.
A total of 49 patients (20 patients in case group and 29 patients in control group) with stage I to III, histopathologically proved ovarian cancer underwent cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy with and without investigator-prepared oral ginger capsules (2 g per day for 6 cycles). Potential side-effects, poor 12-month outcome (serum CA125 levels >35U, radiologic evidence of metastasis and recurrence, or death), and 12-month disease-free survival were documented and compared between the 2 groups.
Poor outcome including serum CA125>35, metastasis, recurrence or death was documented more common in control group (69% versus 40%). metastasis frequency confirmed by computerized tomography (CT) scan 6 month after treatment was significantly lower in case group (P = 0.04). There was no significant difference regarding mortality and disease free survival during one year follow-up after treatment between 2 groups (P = 0.55). Chemotherapy complications such as nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and peripheral neuropathy were detected in case group less than control group but the difference was not significant.
Oral administration of ginger is along with a significantly better 12-month outcome in patients on chemotherapy because of ovarian cancer, and accordingly, considering its safety, its administration is recommended.