Efficacy of ginseng oral administration and ginseng injections on cancer-related fatigue: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Up to 90% of patients who are under the active treatment suffer from cancer-related fatigue (CRF). CRF can persist about 10 years after diagnosis and/or treatment. Accumulating reports support that ginseng and ginseng injections are both potential drugs for the treatment of CRF but few studies put them together for analysis. Methods: Two reviewers independently extracted data in 3 databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) from their inception to May 24, 2021. The primary outcome was the effect of ginseng in alleviating CRF. The secondary outcome was ginseng in alleviating emotional or cognitive fatigue. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was employed. Results: Twelve studies were included to evaluate efficacy of ginseng oral administration and ginseng injections on CRF. The pooled SMD was 0.40 (95% confidence Interval [95% CI] [0.29–0.51], P < .00001). Six studies were included to evaluate efficacy of ginseng oral administration on CRF and the SMD was 0.29 (95% CI [0.15–0.42], P < .0001). The order was 2000 mg/d, 3000 mg/d, 1000 mg/d and placebo from high efficacy to low. Ten studies were included to evaluate efficacy of ginseng injections on CRF and the SMD was 0.74 (95% CI [0.59–0.90], P < .00001). Emotional fatigue was reported in 4 studies, ginseng oral administration in 2 and ginseng injections in 2. The pooled SMD was 0.12 (95% CI [−0.04 to 0.29], P = .15). Cognitive fatigue was reported in 4 studies focusing on ginseng injections and the SMD was 0.72 (95% CI [0.48–0.96], P < .00001). Conclusion: Ginseng can improve CRF. Intravenous injection might be better than oral administration. Ginseng injections may alleviate cognitive fatigue. No evidence was found to support that ginseng could alleviate emotional fatigue.

Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine for cancer-related fatigue: a systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials

“…Similarly, this systematic review showed that these three TCM products might have a positive effect on CRF by improving some fatigue scale scores, cytokines level and blood tests compared with control group, and most patients showed no obvious adverse reaction after medication. Some findings also supported the antifatigue efficacy of these products in CRF patients [128,138]. According to the findings of this review, Kangai Injection, Buzhong Yiqi Decoction and Shenqi Fuzheng Injection are the TCM prescriptions worth considered for their role and potential benefits in treating CRF.…”