Chemo Effect Alleviated - glutamine to reduce mouth pain from chemotherapy

Healthfacts, Oct 1, 1998 by Marya Napoli

People treated with certain cancer chemotherapy drugs often suffer from mouth sores and have difficulty swallowing. A new, preliminary study shows that their suffering can be alleviated with a dietary supplement called glutamine, an amino acid, which can be purchased at many health food stores and pharmacies. Chemotherapy drugs work by stopping the proliferation of cells in the body. But they also adversely affect the normal, rapidly dividing cells of the mucosa or membranes that line the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. The resulting inflammatory condition recedes in the weeks after treatment ends.

Peter M. Anderson, M.D. and colleagues conducted a study of 24 people treated with the commonly prescribed chemotherapy drug called methotrexate (Cancer, 10/1/98). They were randomly assigned to take a swish and swallow form of glutamine or a glycerine solution, which served as a placebo. They were told to swish and swallow on treatment days and for at least 14 days thereafter. The people taking the glutamine solution had 4.5 fewer days of mouth pain compared to those using the placebo solution.