Survivorship
Ginseng for fatigue
In spite of the wide use of Ginseng extract for fatigue, its efficacy for treating cancer-related fatigue has not been carefully studied. Studies in other populations have failed to demonstrate the efficacy of ginseng in fatigue. A recent study attempted to investigate the use of ginseng in fatigue after breast cancer treatment. Breast cancer survivors seeking treatment for fatigue were recruited to participate in an 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The authors reported a variety of practical problems encountered in the study, including large numbers of survivors with conditions that were possible contraindications to ginseng use, and inability to achieve blinding for the intervention because of strong odor from the ginseng the authors concluded that evaluating ginseng for breast cancer treatment-related fatigue is a great challenge, particularly if a blinded randomized design is desired. No data were presented regarding effects of the ginseng in cancer survivors.
Recommendation
There is insufficient data to suggest that ginseng may be useful for treating fatigue in cancer survivors.
References - Hide References
- Elam JL, Carpenter JS, Shu XO, Boyapati S, Friedmann-Gilchrist J. Methodological issues in the investigation of ginseng as an intervention for fatigue. Clin Nurse Spec. 2006 Jul-Aug;20(4):183-9.
- Hartz AJ, Bentler S, Noyes R, Hoehns J, Logemann C, Sinift S, Butani Y, Wang W, Brake K, Ernst M, Kautzman H. Randomized controlled trial of Siberian ginseng for chronic fatigue. Psychol Med. 2004 Jan;34(1):51-61.