TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of zinc on radiation-induced dysgeusia
T2 - a systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Chi, Woo J.
AU - Myers, Jeffrey N.
AU - Frank, Steven J.
AU - Aponte-Wesson, Ruth A.
AU - Otun, Adegbenga O.
AU - Nogueras-González, Graciela M.
AU - Li, Yisheng
AU - Geng, Yimin
AU - Chambers, Mark S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Purpose: Many head and neck cancer patients who receive radiation therapy experience radiation-induced dysgeusia (RID), which has no standard treatment. The only supplement controlled clinical trials have evaluated for the treatment of RID is zinc. However, the results of these and other studies investigating the use of zinc for RID have been inconsistent. To assess the validity of zinc as a treatment for RID, we conducted a systematic literature search and performed a meta-analysis to determine the extent to which zinc affects RID incidence and the degree to which ongoing RID responds to zinc. Methods: We searched the Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases to identify studies investigating the use of zinc-based therapy for RID in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation that were published between January 1, 2003, and November 9, 2017. Using American Society of Clinical Oncology criteria, we selected studies with a high level of evidence for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results: Of the 32 full-text articles eligible for inclusion, three were included in the final review and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that, compared with placebo, zinc reduces the incidence of RID (risk ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.67–0.92) but does not improve taste acuity more rapidly following radiation therapy (risk ratio, 2.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.97–6.88). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that zinc-based therapy reduces the incidence of RID but has a minimal effect on ongoing RID. Our findings also highlight the need for additional evidence-based research on this topic.
AB - Purpose: Many head and neck cancer patients who receive radiation therapy experience radiation-induced dysgeusia (RID), which has no standard treatment. The only supplement controlled clinical trials have evaluated for the treatment of RID is zinc. However, the results of these and other studies investigating the use of zinc for RID have been inconsistent. To assess the validity of zinc as a treatment for RID, we conducted a systematic literature search and performed a meta-analysis to determine the extent to which zinc affects RID incidence and the degree to which ongoing RID responds to zinc. Methods: We searched the Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases to identify studies investigating the use of zinc-based therapy for RID in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation that were published between January 1, 2003, and November 9, 2017. Using American Society of Clinical Oncology criteria, we selected studies with a high level of evidence for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results: Of the 32 full-text articles eligible for inclusion, three were included in the final review and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that, compared with placebo, zinc reduces the incidence of RID (risk ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.67–0.92) but does not improve taste acuity more rapidly following radiation therapy (risk ratio, 2.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.97–6.88). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that zinc-based therapy reduces the incidence of RID but has a minimal effect on ongoing RID. Our findings also highlight the need for additional evidence-based research on this topic.
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Radiation-induced dysgeusia
KW - Radiotherapy
KW - Systematic review
KW - Zinc
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U2 - 10.1007/s00520-020-05578-8
DO - 10.1007/s00520-020-05578-8
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32642950
AN - SCOPUS:85087721513
SN - 0941-4355
VL - 28
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
IS - 12
ER -