Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2018
A phase II study of HMB/Arg/Gln against oral mucositis induced by chemoradiotherapy for patients with head and neck cancer.
Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation on muscle mass, function, and other outcomes in patients with cancer: a systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- β-Hydroxy-β-methyl Butyrate/L-Arginine/L-Glutamine Supplementation for Preventing Hand-Foot Skin Reaction in Sorafenib for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Trial
- Radiomitigators: Breakthroughs in Post-Radiation Recovery.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Immunonutrients for radiation-induced oral mucositis in head and neck cancer: current evidence and future perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- HMB/Arg/Gln may improve short-term outcomes after esophagectomy in patients with thoracic esophageal cancer.Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus · 2025Article
- Interventions to improve quality of life in patients with head and neck cancers receiving radiation therapy: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Article
- J-SUPPORT research policy for oral mucositis associated with cancer treatment.Cancer medicine · 2022Article
- Narrative review of the management of oral mucositis during chemoradiation for head and neck cancer.Annals of translational medicine · 2021Review
- Proline-dependent regulation of collagen metabolism.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2020Review
- Outcomes of Supplementation With β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, Arginine, and Glutamine During Carbon-ion Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Prospective Exploratory Study.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis phase II trial assessed the clinical benefit of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, arginine, and glutamine (HMB/Arg/Gln) for preventing chemoradiotherapy (CRT)-induced oral mucositis (OM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).
methodsPatients with HNC receiving definitive or postoperative cisplatin-based CRT were enrolled. HMB/Arg/Gln was administered orally or per percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy from the first day of CRT up to its completion. All patients received opioid-based pain control and oral care programs that we previously reported. The primary endpoint was the incidence of grade ≥ 3 OM (functional/symptomatic) according to the Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events version 3.0. Quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30/PROMS) at baseline and upon radiotherapy at a dosage of 50 Gy were assessed.
resultsThirty-five patients with HNC were enrolled. Sixteen of them (45.7%) developed grade ≥ 3 OM (i.e., functional/symptomatic). The incidence of grade ≤ 1 OM (functional/symptomatic) was 51.5% at 2 weeks and 82.9% at 4 weeks after radiotherapy completion. Clinical examination revealed that 10 patients (28.6%) developed grade ≥ 3 OM. The incidence of grade ≤ 1 OM (clinical exam) was 80.0% at 2 weeks and 100% at 4 weeks after radiotherapy completion. Adverse events related to HMB/Arg/Gln were an increase in blood urea nitrogen and diarrhea, but were easily managed.
conclusionsThe addition of HMB/Arg/Gln to opioid-based pain control and oral care programs was feasible but still insufficient at reducing the incidence of CRT-induced severe OM. However, the benefit of HMB/Arg/Gln should not be neglected given the findings of clinical examinations and the rapid recovery from severe OM.
trial registrationUMIN000016453.
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