Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42090031›Full record

ReviewSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2026

The potential of bee products in clinical trials focused on the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy used for cancer treatment.

Shaden A M Khalifa, Aida A Abd El-Wahed, Aamer Saeed, Maria Daglia, Haged H El-Seedi, Zhengxuan Wang, Hussein Sabit, Hongcheng Zhang, Zhiming Guo, Paolo Coghi and 1 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Shaden A M KhalifaNeurology and Psychiatry Department, Capio Saint Göran's Hospital, Sankt Göransplan 1, 112 19, Stockholm, Sweden. shaden.khalifa.2014@gmail.com.
Aida A Abd El-WahedDepartment of Bee Research, Agricultural Research Centre, Plant Protection Research Institute, Giza, 12627, Egypt.
Aamer SaeedDepartment of Chemistry, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.
Maria DagliaInternational Research Center for Food Nutrition and Safety, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China.
Haged H El-SeediFaculty of Medicine, Riga Stradins University (RSU), Riga, 1007, Latvia.
Zhengxuan WangFaculty of Food Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China.
Hussein SabitDepartment of Medical Biotechnology, College of Biotechnology, Misr University for Science and Technology, P.O. Box 77, Giza, 3237101, Egypt.
Hongcheng ZhangState Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
Zhiming GuoSchool of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China.
Paolo CoghiSchool of Pharmacy, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
Hesham R El-SeediDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah, 42351, Saudi Arabia. halsaeedi@iu.edu.sa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeCancer is a major global issue threatening the whole world, especially developing countries. Treatment of cancer using chemotherapy and radiotherapy has several consequences that negatively affect the quality of life of cancer patients.

methodsBee products have numerous pharmacological effects and clinical impacts due to their extraordinary chemical composition. The objective of the current work is to shed light on preclinical studies and clinical trials of bee products, particularly propolis, honey, and royal jelly, with special emphasis on their role in reducing the complications of chemotherapy and radiotherapy by employing a variety of databases. The search used specific keywords, including "bee products", "propolis", "honey", "royal jelly", "cancer", "clinical trials", "radiotherapy", and "chemotherapy". Only peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and published research papers were included.

resultsAccording to the literature review, bee-generated propolis, honey, and royal jelly have been used in animal models to reduce the adverse effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Depending on the kind of cancer, different dosages and treatment times were used for certain bee products. Bee products are used in various forms, such as crude, in capsules, mouthwashes, tablets, and oils. Propolis, royal jelly, and honey are used at dosages up to 400 mg, 1 g, and 50 g, respectively. Clinical trials have further confirmed their efficacy in cancer treatment, either as standalone therapies or as supplements to conventional treatments.

conclusionIt is crucial to investigate the active mechanisms of these products further and to include them in additional clinical trials as potential cancer treatments.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsNeoplasmsAnimalsBeesFatty AcidsHoneyHumansPropolisQuality of LifeRadiotherapyRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRoyal JellyAntineoplastic AgentsFatty AcidsPropolisRoyal JellyBee productsCancerChemotherapyFeverGastrointestinal and hematologic complicationsOral mucositisRadiotherapyXerostomia

Identifiers

PMID42090031

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.