Leung, H.W., & Chan, A.L. (2016). Glutamine in alleviation of radiation-induced severe oral mucositis: A meta-analysis. Nutrition and Cancer, 68, 734–742.
STUDY PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of glutamine to treat severe mucositis induced by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer
TYPE OF STUDY: Meta-analysis and systematic review
PHASE OF CARE: Active antitumor treatment
APPLICATIONS: Elder care
Glutamine treatment had statistically significant benefits: It (a) reduced the risk and severity of OM (grade IV) (RR = 0.17, 95% confidence interval [0.06, 0.47]) and (b) shortened the duration of OM by 2–3 days. The studies reviewed had a low risk of overall bias.
The protective effects of glutamine for radiation and chemotherapy-induced mucositis are promising. Glutamine or alanyl-glutamine accelerated the mucosal recovery through increasing mucosal tissue glutathione stores, reducing inflammatory parameters and speeding re-epithelization.
Large prospective, comprehensive clinical trials are needed to investigate the effectiveness of glutamine in the prevention of OM induced by radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy.