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.

A Phase II/III Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Trial of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) for Nausea Caused by Chemotherapy for Cancer: A Currently Accruing URCC CCOP Cancer Control Study.

Despite the widespread use of 5-HT3 receptor antagonist antiemetics such as ondansetron and granistron, up to 70% of patients with cancer receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy agents experience postchemotherapy nausea and vomiting. Delayed postchemotherapy nausea (nausea that occurs >/= 24 hours after chemotherapy administration) and anticipatory nausea (nausea that develops before chemotherapy administration, in anticipation of it) are poorly controlled by currently available antiemetic agents. Scientific studies suggest that ginger (Zingiber officinale) might have beneficial effects on nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness, surgery, and pregnancy.

Community-based clinical oncology research trials for cancer-related fatigue.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a highly prevalent and debilitating symptom experienced by most cancer patients during, and often for considerable periods after, treatment. This symptom affects patients' overall quality of life and is characterized by persistent exhaustion and a decreased capacity to perform daily social and cognitive tasks. CRF is also one of the most commonly reported side effects of cancer and cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, and biologic response modification therapy.

Fatigue and depression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: an emotion approach.

Fatigue and depressive symptoms are common in cancer patients, but the nature of the relationship between the two remains unclear. We examined the degree to which two dimensions of emotion assessed as psychological factors (i.e.

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%).

Occurrence, severity, and longitudinal course of twelve common symptoms in 1129 consecutive patients during radiotherapy for cancer.

Little is known about the frequency, severity, and course of symptoms experienced by patients receiving radiotherapy (RT). For this descriptive study, 1129 patients with a variety of cancer diagnoses completed a 12-item Symptom Inventory (SI) at the start of RT; 419 of these patients also completed the SI weekly for an additional 4 weeks (five data points). Eighty-four percent of the 1129 patients were already experiencing symptoms when treatment began.

5-Hydroxytryptamine-receptor antagonists versus prochlorperazine for control of delayed nausea caused by doxorubicin: a URCC CCOP randomised controlled trial.

Background: Despite widespread use of short-acting antagonists for the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor, about 50% of patients given moderately emetogenic chemotherapy have delayed nausea. We aimed to assess whether a 5-HT-receptor antagonist was more effective than was prochlorperazine for control of delayed nausea and delayed vomiting caused by doxorubicin.

Methods: 691 patients who previously had not had chemotherapy and who were scheduled to receive doxorubicin were given a short-acting 5-HT-receptor antagonist and dexamethasone before doxorubicin (day 1), and were randomly assigned to one of three regimens for days 2 and 3: 10 mg prochlorperazine taken orally every 8 h; any first-generation 5-HT-receptor antagonist (except palonosetron) taken as standard dose intravenously or orally; or 10 mg prochlorperazine taken as needed.

Gabapentin for hot flashes in 420 women with breast cancer: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Most women receiving systemic therapy for breast cancer experience hot flashes. We undertook a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-institutional trial to assess the efficacy of gabapentin in controlling hot flashes in women with breast cancer.

Methods: 420 women with breast cancer who were having two or more hot flashes per day were randomly assigned placebo, gabapentin 300 mg/day, or gabapentin 900 mg/day by mouth in three divided doses for 8 weeks.

Frequency, severity, clinical course, and correlates of fatigue in 372 patients during 5 weeks of radiotherapy for cancer.

Background: Patients often describe fatigue as the most distressing of the symptoms they experienced during their cancer treatment. Fatigue may increase from initial levels experienced during cancer treatment with the addition of radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: Three hundred seventy-two patients completed a Symptom Inventory at the initiation of RT and weekly for 4 weeks thereafter.

Management of cancer-related fatigue.

Fatigue is among the most commonly reported symptoms of patients with cancer, with prevalence exceeding 60% in many studies. It is among the most distressing symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatments because it substantially disturbs patients' quality of life and ability to function optimally on a daily basis. Although the development of this condition has been associated with a number of factors, its etiology remains poorly understood.

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.

Effect of paroxetine hydrochloride (Paxil) on fatigue and depression in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Background: Fatigue can significantly interfere with a cancer patient's ability to fulfill daily responsibilities and enjoy life. It commonly co-exists with depression in patients undergoing chemotherapy, suggesting that administration of an antidepressant that alleviates symptoms of depression could also reduce fatigue.

Methods: We report on a double-blind clinical trial of 94 female breast cancer patients receiving at least four cycles of chemotherapy randomly assigned to receive either 20 mg of the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine (Paxil, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals) or an identical-appearing placebo.

Patient expectation is a strong predictor of severe nausea after chemotherapy: a University of Rochester Community Clinical Oncology Program study of patients with breast carcinoma.

Background: Patients may use their past experiences with nausea, as well as information about the incidence of nausea from chemotherapy that other patients have experienced, to form a prediction, or response expectancy, of nausea from their own upcoming chemotherapy. Mounting evidence suggests that these expectancies relating to nausea are significant predictors, and, likely, contributing factors to the development of treatment-related nausea.

Methods: The patients in the current study were participants in the control arm of a multicenter clinical trial conducted between November 1999 and July 2001 by the University of Rochester Community Clinical Oncology Program.

Biobehavioral factors in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Although emesis can be considered a reflex to clear toxins from the body and involves mostly lower brain structures, nausea's purpose appears to be a warning signal to the individual to not engage in behaviors that he or she was doing at the time. As such, it involves the functioning of cognition and memory from higher developed neural structures. Given this, it should not be surprising that biobehavioral factors are important in predicting and controlling nausea.

Cancer patients' expectations of experiencing treatment-related side effects: a University of Rochester Cancer Center--Community Clinical Oncology Program study of 938 patients from community practices.

Background: Adequate management of treatment-related side effects is important for patients and challenging for clinicians. Side effects generated by various treatments have been characterized reasonably well. However, to the authors' knowledge, less is known regarding what patients expect to experience regarding these side effects and how patient characteristics are related to these expectations.

Differential effects of paroxetine on fatigue and depression: a randomized, double-blind trial from the University of Rochester Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program.

Purpose: Fatigue and depression typically occur together in cancer patients, suggesting a common etiology, perhaps based on serotonin. This randomized clinical trial tested whether paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant known to modulate brain serotonin, would reduce fatigue in cancer patients and whether any reduction was related to depression.

Patients And Methods: Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy for the first time were assessed for fatigue.

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).

Nausea and emesis remain significant problems of chemotherapy despite prophylaxis with 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 antiemetics: a University of Rochester James P. Wilmot Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program Study of 360 cancer patients treated in the community.

Background: Clinical reports suggest that nausea remains a side effect of chemotherapy despite widespread use of serotonin receptor antagonists. This study summarized the frequency, timing, and intensity of postchemotherapy nausea for patients receiving doxorubicin, cisplatin, or carboplatin.

Methods: Three hundred sixty chemotherapy-naïve patients (73% female) were enrolled in a study testing the ability of an information intervention to reduce nausea.

Reduction in serum cortisol after platinum based chemotherapy for cancer: a role for the HPA axis in treatment-related nausea?

Many adverse effects commonly associated with chemotherapy, such as nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, are also characteristic of adrenal insufficiency. It is conceivable that chemotherapy drugs may directly or indirectly impact the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. We examined this conjecture by characterizing temporal changes in blood cortisol concentrations in women with ovarian carcinoma given chemotherapy.

Fatigue associated with cancer and its treatment.

Fatigue is often related to cancer, and that related to its treatment is the most commonly reported side effect of cancer treatment. It differs from that induced by other causes, such as sleep disturbance and exertion, as the latter are typically alleviated by a period of rest. In contrast to exercise-induced fatigue, the fatigue reported by cancer patients is usually described as an unusual, excessive, whole-body experience that is disproportionate or unrelated to activity or exertion and is not relieved by rest or sleep.

Temporal interrelationships among fatigue, circadian rhythm and depression in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Seventy-eight female breast cancer patients were assessed for fatigue, depression, overall mood, and circadian rhythm at their second and fourth on-study chemotherapy cycles as part of a larger study examining the efficacy of paroxetine in reducing chemotherapy-induced fatigue. The Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF), the Fatigue Symptom Checklist (FSCL), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression [CES-D) questionnaire, the Hamilton Depression Inventory (HDI), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were completed by patients at home 7 days after each treatment to assess symptom severity. Circadian rhythm was assessed over a 72-h period with the Mini-Motionlogger Actigraph (Ambulatory Monitoring, Ardsley, NY), starting 6 days after treatment.

Nausea and emesis: evidence for a biobehavioral perspective.

Abstract. For most people, nausea and vomiting (NV) are simply unfortunate consequences of overindulgent college days or overenthusiastic amusement rides. Yet for most cancer patients, nausea and vomiting (also referred to as emesis) remain among the most frequent side effects of cancer chemotherapy.