Clinical trial · Interventional
Effects of Oral L-Glutamine in Head and Neck Cancer Patients During Radiotherapy
Impacts of Oral Supplement With L-Glutamine on the Radiation-induced Toxicity and Nutritional Status of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Under Radiotherapy
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The rapidly increasing mortality and incidence of oral cancer has become a public health major problem in Taiwan. To date, the treatment of head and neck cancer mainly include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy might have an influence on the patients' diet by causing dismal side effects, including nausea, vomiting, pain, infection, dysorexia, allotriogeustia, oral ulceration and dysphagia, which make the patients more difficult to absorb nutrients. In the previous study, the incidence of malnutrition among the patients with cancer has been estimated at between 40 and 80%, especially occurred in the patients with head and neck cancers and upper gastrointestinal cancers. In this study, the effect of supplement with L-Glutamine on the nutritional status and radiation-induced toxicity of head and neck cancer patients will be evaluated to improve the patients' quality of life when they are undergoing radiotherapy. When the head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, patients' instructions and nutrient intervention of L-Glutamine are performed to maintain the patients' nutritional status and reduce the patients' diet-related or other side effects caused by radiotherapy. It is anticipated that head and neck cancer patients with surgery and radiotherapy intake with L-Glutamine might decrease treatment-related side effects and hence improve their quality of life when they are undergoing radiotherapy.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head and Neck Cancer | Malignant Head and Neck Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (3)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| oral glutamine | Dietary Supplement | — | UNRESOLVED |
| placebo | Dietary Supplement | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Radiotherapy | Radiation | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Glutamine
- description
- intake of 5g glutamine and 10g maltodextrin. Oral glutamine is a food additive issued by food and drug government in Taiwan with number 009929.L-Glutamine and maltodextrin are both nutritional supplements. In the glutamine arm: 10 g L-Glutamine and 5 g maltodextrin. The patients take their supplements three times a day during the period: 7 days before radiotherapy to 14 days after radiotherapy.
- interventionNames
- Dietary Supplement: oral glutamine
- Radiation: Radiotherapy
- type
- PLACEBO_COMPARATOR
- label
- placebo
- description
- intake of 15g maltodextrin. The patients take their supplements three times a day during the period: 7 days before radiotherapy to 14 days after radiotherapy.
- interventionNames
- Dietary Supplement: placebo
- Radiation: Radiotherapy
Primary outcomes (2)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 20 Years
- Maximum age
- 75 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Histopathological diagnosis of malignant head and neck tumor. * able to open his or her mouth wider than the width of one finger during the assessment of oral mucositis. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group（ECOG）0-2 * complete radiotherapy (six to seven weeks with targets involving oral cavity or oropharynx) Exclusion Criteria: * History of previous radiotherapy. * diabetes or nephritic or hepatic problems. * serious infection or sepsis. * distant metastases
References
Publications (33)
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