研究人員們找到了許多老祖母們已經非常熟悉的緩解惡心的姜粉，并且報道說這種調味品有助于正在進行化療的癌癥患者。
　　
    該項研究的作者、羅徹斯特大學詹姆斯·P.威爾莫特癌癥中心的皮膚病學和放射腫瘤學助理教授茱莉·瑞恩在周四的電話會議期間說：“每天攝入 0.5 克到 1 克姜，在化療的第一天就顯著地能夠減少與化療相關的惡心，減少惡心將改善許多癌癥患者的生活質量。” 她同時強調，將在本月晚些時候于佛羅里達州召開的美國臨床腫瘤學協(xié)會年會上對研究工作進行介紹。
　　
    那樣的劑量相當于 1/4 到 1/2 茶匙的姜粉，她補充說。
　　
    試驗的受試者，多數是女性和乳腺癌患者，也服用傳統(tǒng)的平息嘔吐藥物。
　　
    “作為腫瘤學家，很多病人問我們：‘對于化療引起的惡心，我還有什么可做的嗎?’”ASCO（美國臨床腫瘤協(xié)會）的社長當選人并且是位于安娜堡的密西根大學綜合癌癥中心的醫(yī)療主任道格拉斯·布雷勒博士說。
　　
    絕大多數正在接受化療的患者都發(fā)生惡心和嘔吐，并且甚至在實際的嘔吐已經停止時惡心還在持續(xù)。大約百分之七十的化療病人即使常用抗嘔劑或者止吐藥物仍有癥狀。
　　
    生姜是一種調味品香料，數十年來廣泛地被用于治療惡心、嘔吐，瑞恩說。
　　
    這些研究人員在美國國立癌癥研究所的支持下，登記了 644 名已經在化療后經歷過后惡心的癌癥病患。全部的參與者必須仍然面臨至少三次化療。
　　
    按照研究人員們的說法，這次試驗是同類試驗中最大的一次。
　　
    參與者在開始化療的前三天以及接下來的兩個周期的后三天隨機接受空白對照劑或者 0.5 克、1 克或 1.5 克三種劑量姜補充劑中的一種。全部的參與者也在治療的第一天接受傳統(tǒng)的止吐藥物。
　　
    萊恩說，大多數患者在化療的第一天報告最嚴重的惡心和嘔吐。如果在這個關鍵的時期能夠減少惡心，隨后的惡心也可能較小。
　　
    而所有劑量的姜都有助于較少惡心,“采用 0.5 克和 1 克姜出現最顯著的惡心減少，大約減少惡心 40%,”萊恩報告說。這個效果在接下來的 24 小時趨于消失。
　　
    研究者們表示，尚不清楚姜類產品如姜茶、姜汁餅干和壽司是否有同樣的效果。

    Researchers have discovered the nausea-easing powers of ginger that many grandmothers are already familiar with, and report that the spice helped cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy.

    "Ginger at a daily dose of 0.5-to-1 gram significantly aids in the reduction of chemotherapy-related nausea on the first day of chemotherapy, and reduced nausea will lead to improved quality of life in many cancer patients," said study author Julie Ryan, an assistant professor of dermatology and radiation oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester, said during a Thursday teleconference highlighting research that will be presented later this month during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Florida.

    That dose is the equivalent of 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger, she added.

    The trial participants, mostly women and mostly breast cancer patients, were also taking conventional drugs to quell vomiting.

    "A lot of patients ask us as oncologists, 'Is there anything more I can do to deal with chemotherapy-induced nausea?' " said Dr. Douglas Blayney, president-elect of ASCO and medical director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.

    The majority of patients undergoing chemotherapy do have nausea and vomiting. And nausea can persist even if actual vomiting is stopped. Some 70 percent of patients in chemo still have the symptoms even with common use of antiemetic, or anti-vomiting, drugs.

    Ginger is a spice that has been widely used for decades to treat nausea and vomiting, Ryan stated.

    These researchers, supported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, enrolled 644 cancer patients who had already experienced nausea after chemotherapy. All participants had to still be facing at least three rounds of chemo.

    The trial is the largest of its kind, according to the researchers.

    Participants were randomized to receive either a placebo or one of three doses of ginger supplement: 0.5 grams, 1 gram or 1.5 grams for three days before the start of chemo and three days after for the next two cycles. All also received traditional antiemetic drugs on the first day of treatment.

    Most patients report the most severe nausea and vomiting on the first day of chemo, Ryan said. If nausea can be reduced during this critical time period, subsequent nausea is also less likely.

    While all doses of ginger helped with nausea, "The largest reduction in nausea occurred with 0.5 and 1 gram of ginger, which was about a 40 percent reduction in nausea," Ryan reported. The effect tended to wear off over the next 24 hours.

    It wasn't clear if the same effects would be seen with ginger products, such as tea, ginger cookies and sushi, the researchers said.