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Abstract
As the effectiveness of glutamine supplementation for oral mucositis (OM) in patients with cancer remains controversial, a comprehensive summary and analysis of available evidence is necessary. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the benefits of glutamine supplementation on OM and OM-related adverse reactions in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy (CT) and/or radiotherapy (RT), using data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for RCTs on the use of glutamine for treating OM, published until September 11, 2020. Risk ratios (RRs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using RevMan 5.3. Fifteen studies with 988 participants were included. Glutamine did not reduce the incidence of OM (RR 0.94), but it reduced the severity of OM (SMD −0.73) and incidence of severe OM (RR 0.41). Additionally, glutamine reduced the incidence of opioid analgesic use (RR 0.84), feeding tube use (RR 0.46), hospitalization (RR 0.39), and treatment interruption (RR 0.49) caused by OM. Glutamine effectively improved OM and reduced OM-related adverse reactions in patients with cancer receiving CT and/or RT.
Acknowledgments
Zhengqiang Wei, Wang Huang, Linyu Zhang and Gang Tang substantial contributions to conception and designed the data; Gang Tang and Wang Huang drafted the article critically for important intellectual content; and Zhengqiang Wei approval of the version to be published.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Funding
The authors received no funding support for this literature review, authorship, and publication of this article.