Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and is the leading cause of mortality due to all types of cancers among the female population worldwide. Results of clinical trials investigating the effect of ginger on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in breast cancer patients are inconsistent. This study was aimed at obtaining a comprehensive overview of the current evidence regarding the effectiveness of ginger as an antiemetic modality for controlling CINV in breast cancer patients. All published randomized controlled trials in English were systematically searched on Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane search databases up to June 2018. The outcome variable of interest was severity and the frequency of nausea and vomiting in patients. A total of 50 studies were found through search databases. After excluding duplicates, the 42 remaining studies were screened, and finally, nine trials were included, which were published between 2012 and 2017.Two studies have examined the effect of ginger on the frequency of nausea, five studies on the frequency of vomiting, seven studies on the severity of nausea, and three studies on severity of vomiting. A study evaluated the effectiveness of ginger in improving dietary intake in CINV. Our investigation suggests that ginger may reduce nausea in the acute phase of chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer.The effect of ginger on nausea and vomiting in other conditions requires more high-quality clinical trials.

Background Little evidence exists regarding the clinical value of synbiotics in the management of post-treatment complications of breast cancer especially breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). This study aimed to investigate the effects of synbiotic supplementation along with calorie restriction on quality of life and edema volume in patients with BCRL. Methods This randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial was conducted on 135 overweight and obese women with BCRL aged 18–65 years old. Participants were randomly allocated to receive a calorie-restricted diet plus 10 9 CFU synbiotic supplement (CRS group; n = 45) or placebo (CRP group; n = 45), daily for 10 weeks. Also, a control group (n = 45) with no intervention was included in the trial. All of the participants received Complete Decongestive Therapy for lymphedema treatment. The quality of life score, edema volume and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline and end of the trial. Results A total of 121 subjects completed the trial. CRS group showed a significant decrease in the total quality of life score (P = 0.004), and it’s psychosocial ( P = 0.022) and functional ( P = 0.002) domain scores, as well as edema volume ( P = 0.002) and BMI ( P < 0.001) in comparison to the control. However, there were no significant differences in changes in trial outcomes between the CRS and CRP groups. Conclusion Synbiotic supplementation along with a low-calorie diet was effective in quality of life, edema volume, and BMI improvement; mostly due to low-calorie diet. It seems that adding a dietitian consultation on the lymphedema management strategy may provide a better result in lymphedema control.

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Purpose Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver disease worldwide. The purpose of this study is to assess the possible association between habitual intake of allium vegetables and NAFLD risk. Design/methodology/approach In this study, 196 cases of NAFLD and 803 age-matched controls were enrolled from the same clinic. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Consumption of allium vegetables, including raw garlic and onions, were calculated and considered as grams/day in all participants. Findings Participants in the highest tertile of allium vegetable intake had 64% lower risk of NAFLD compared with those in the lowest tertile of the allium vegetables intake (odds ratio [OR]: 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23-0.51; p < 0.001). After controlling for potential confounders, there was no significant change in this inverse association (OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.22-0.56; p < 0.001). Originality/value This study for the first time showed that higher consumption of allium vegetables was associated with lower risk of NAFLD. The results did not change when the authors adjusted the analysis for the known risk factors of the disease, which indicate the independency of the association.