研究人员们找到了许多老祖母们已经非常熟悉的缓解恶心的姜粉，并且报道说这种调味品有助于正在进行化疗的癌症患者。
　　
    该项研究的作者、罗彻斯特大学詹姆斯·P.威尔莫特癌症中心的皮肤病学和放射肿瘤学助理教授茱莉·瑞恩在周四的电话会议期间说：“每天摄入 0.5 克到 1 克姜，在化疗的第一天就显著地能够减少与化疗相关的恶心，减少恶心将改善许多癌症患者的生活质量。” 她同时强调，将在本月晚些时候于佛罗里达州召开的美国临床肿瘤学协会年会上对研究工作进行介绍。
　　
    那样的剂量相当于 1/4 到 1/2 茶匙的姜粉，她补充说。
　　
    试验的受试者，多数是女性和乳腺癌患者，也服用传统的平息呕吐药物。
　　
    “作为肿瘤学家，很多病人问我们：‘对于化疗引起的恶心，我还有什么可做的吗?’”ASCO（美国临床肿瘤协会）的社长当选人并且是位于安娜堡的密西根大学综合癌症中心的医疗主任道格拉斯·布雷勒博士说。
　　
    绝大多数正在接受化疗的患者都发生恶心和呕吐，并且甚至在实际的呕吐已经停止时恶心还在持续。大约百分之七十的化疗病人即使常用抗呕剂或者止吐药物仍有症状。
　　
    生姜是一种调味品香料，数十年来广泛地被用于治疗恶心、呕吐，瑞恩说。
　　
    这些研究人员在美国国立癌症研究所的支持下，登记了 644 名已经在化疗后经历过后恶心的癌症病患。全部的参与者必须仍然面临至少三次化疗。
　　
    按照研究人员们的说法，这次试验是同类试验中最大的一次。
　　
    参与者在开始化疗的前三天以及接下来的两个周期的后三天随机接受空白对照剂或者 0.5 克、1 克或 1.5 克三种剂量姜补充剂中的一种。全部的参与者也在治疗的第一天接受传统的止吐药物。
　　
    莱恩说，大多数患者在化疗的第一天报告最严重的恶心和呕吐。如果在这个关键的时期能够减少恶心，随后的恶心也可能较小。
　　
    而所有剂量的姜都有助于较少恶心,“采用 0.5 克和 1 克姜出现最显著的恶心减少，大约减少恶心 40%,”莱恩报告说。这个效果在接下来的 24 小时趋于消失。
　　
    研究者们表示，尚不清楚姜类产品如姜茶、姜汁饼干和寿司是否有同样的效果。

    Researchers have discovered the nausea-easing powers of ginger that many grandmothers are already familiar with, and report that the spice helped cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy.

    "Ginger at a daily dose of 0.5-to-1 gram significantly aids in the reduction of chemotherapy-related nausea on the first day of chemotherapy, and reduced nausea will lead to improved quality of life in many cancer patients," said study author Julie Ryan, an assistant professor of dermatology and radiation oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester, said during a Thursday teleconference highlighting research that will be presented later this month during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Florida.

    That dose is the equivalent of 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger, she added.

    The trial participants, mostly women and mostly breast cancer patients, were also taking conventional drugs to quell vomiting.

    "A lot of patients ask us as oncologists, 'Is there anything more I can do to deal with chemotherapy-induced nausea?' " said Dr. Douglas Blayney, president-elect of ASCO and medical director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.

    The majority of patients undergoing chemotherapy do have nausea and vomiting. And nausea can persist even if actual vomiting is stopped. Some 70 percent of patients in chemo still have the symptoms even with common use of antiemetic, or anti-vomiting, drugs.

    Ginger is a spice that has been widely used for decades to treat nausea and vomiting, Ryan stated.

    These researchers, supported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, enrolled 644 cancer patients who had already experienced nausea after chemotherapy. All participants had to still be facing at least three rounds of chemo.

    The trial is the largest of its kind, according to the researchers.

    Participants were randomized to receive either a placebo or one of three doses of ginger supplement: 0.5 grams, 1 gram or 1.5 grams for three days before the start of chemo and three days after for the next two cycles. All also received traditional antiemetic drugs on the first day of treatment.

    Most patients report the most severe nausea and vomiting on the first day of chemo, Ryan said. If nausea can be reduced during this critical time period, subsequent nausea is also less likely.

    While all doses of ginger helped with nausea, "The largest reduction in nausea occurred with 0.5 and 1 gram of ginger, which was about a 40 percent reduction in nausea," Ryan reported. The effect tended to wear off over the next 24 hours.

    It wasn't clear if the same effects would be seen with ginger products, such as tea, ginger cookies and sushi, the researchers said.