The Effect of Ginseng on Cancer related Fatigue and Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Study.

Abstract

Abstract: Background & Objective: Quality of life is an important factor in cancer patients Which can be used to evaluate the important outcomes of the treatment of diseases. Fatigue associated with cancer is the most common symptom in patients with gastric and colon cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of Asian ginseng extract (panax ginseng) on quality of life and fatigue in survivors of cancer. Methods: This randomized, double-blind randomized controlled trial was performed on 65 patients with gastric cancer / colon cancer. The primary sampling was available and then the patients were randomly assigned to either intervention (35 patients) or placebo (35). The tools used in this study were three parts. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic characteristics and related characteristics of the disease including the history of the disease and the second one including the QLQ-C30 questionnaire on quality of life (QLQ-C30) and the third part was a standard BFI questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 14) and descriptive statistics (frequency, percent), Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (for normal distribution of data) and to achieve the objectives of the study were analyzed t-test and Mann-Whitney test. Significance level was considered p <0.05. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the intervention and placebo groups before the intervention (P <0.005). The results showed that the mean score of quality of life and fatigue in the intervention group was significantly different from the control group after the intervention (p <0.001). Also, t-test showed a significant difference between the mean pre-test post-test of fatigue / quality of life in the intervention and placebo groups (P <0.001, P <0.001). Patients did not report any serious side effects of the drug. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that Ginseng has a positive and effective effect on improving overall quality of life, improving symptoms including dyspnea, sleep quality, appetite and decreased mental and physical exhaustion, as well as improving performance in patients with gastric and intestinal cancer. . Patients did not report any effects due to drug use. However, more research is needed because of the lack of research texts.