Effectiveness of glutamine for the treatment of radiodermatitis in cancer patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

After receiving radiation therapy, 60%–95% of patients with cancer develop radiodermatitis, which causes pain, wound infection, and poor quality of life. Glutamine is a popular nutritional supplement for patients with cancer. Several studies examined the usefulness of glutamine for reducing radiodermatitis. However, there is still no consolidated evidence for clinical use.

We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL PLUS, and the China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database for the relevant literature published up to March 2023, without language restrictions. Two reviewers screened, filtered, and appraised these articles independently, and their data were pooled using a random-effects model.

Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 218 participants were analyzed. The incidence of radiodermatitis in the glutamine group (89/110) was significantly lower than in the placebo group (99/108; risk ratio [RR], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81–1.00; p = 0.05; I² = 7%). The incidence of moderate to severe radiodermatitis was significantly lower in the glutamine group than in the placebo group (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.32–0.76; p = 0.001; I² = 52%). Moreover, subgroup analysis demonstrated heterogeneity (I² = 52%) for moderate to severe radiodermatitis, the risk of which might be significantly reduced by a glutamine dose of 20–30 g/day (RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41–0.87; I² = 0%).

The meta-analysis indicate that glutamine might lead to a lower incidence of radiodermatitis, and that a glutamine dose of 20–30 g/day might decrease the incidence of moderate to severe dermatitis. Thus, the serious impact of radiodermatitis on treatment follow-up makes the clinical use of glutamine even more important.

PROSPERO number: CRD42021254394.