Discrepancy of the effects of zinc supplementation on the prevention of radiotherapy-induced mucositis between patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and those with oral cancers: subgroup analysis of a double-blind, randomized study.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of zinc supplementation on radiation-induced mucositis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and those with oral cancers (OC).

Why It Was Studied

A total of 100 patients with head and neck cancers engaged in a randomized double blind study.

All participants were placed into two randomized groups (experimental and control).

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 100 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Neither the patients nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc could be set against what happens without it.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Dietary Supplements, Mouth Neoplasms, Mucositis, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms, Proportional Hazards Models, Radiotherapy and Zinc.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 100 patients.

The publication is from 2010 (Nutrition and cancer), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.