Effects of zinc supplementation on clinical outcomes in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancers: a double-blinded randomized study

Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2008 Feb 1;70(2):368-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2007.06.073. Epub 2007 Nov 5.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of zinc supplementation on the survival of patients after receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancers.

Methods and materials: Patients were randomly divided into two groups; experimental and control. Patients in the experimental group received a predetermined dose of a zinc supplement, and the control group, a placebo. The 50 patients in each group could be considered homogenous with respect to medical histories, tumor characteristics, and therapeutic details.

Results: Patients in both groups appeared to have similar results for 3-year overall, disease-free, and metastases-free survival rates (p = 0.19, p = 0.54, and p = 0.35, respectively). However, patients in the experimental group had better 3-year local-free survival (LFS), although the difference was only marginal (p = 0.092). Another difference was that patients in the experimental group with Stages III-IV disease had a much better 3-year LFS rate when they received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (p = 0.003).

Conclusions: One impact seen was that zinc supplementation improved LFS at 3 years after beginning treatment for patients with Stages III-IV disease. It is imperative that these patients be followed up for a longer period to draw a definite conclusion.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Analysis of Variance
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms / mortality
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / mortality
  • Zinc / administration & dosage*

Substances

  • Zinc