ReviewCureus2026
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Does Molecular Hydrogen Exert Radioprotective Effects Without Compromising the Antitumor Efficacy of Radiotherapy or Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy?
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Radiotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) are widely used for cancer treatment but are frequently associated with radiation-induced toxicities. Molecular hydrogen has been proposed as a potential radioprotective agent because it protects normal tissues from oxidative damage. However, an important concern is whether molecular hydrogen also protects tumor tissues. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate whether molecular hydrogen preserves tumor response while providing radioprotection in cancer patients receiving radiotherapy or CCRT. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed for conducting this review. Eligible studies were English-language original clinical studies of adult cancer patients (≥18 years) treated with radiotherapy or CCRT and receiving molecular hydrogen for radioprotection. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science) were searched from inception to 8 July 2026. Seven studies involving 222 patients were qualitatively synthesized, of which 3 involving 130 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The random-effects model was used. The risk of bias was evaluated with validated tools. The risk ratio (RR) was used to estimate the pooled tumor response. Molecular hydrogen did not significantly affect tumor response compared with the control group (RR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.83-1.15). Sensitivity analysis restricted to randomized controlled trials yielded a broadly consistent result (RR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.84-1.17). The narrative synthesis further indicated that molecular hydrogen reduced radiation-induced toxicities, improved quality of life, and did not adversely affect hematological parameters. In conclusion, this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that molecular hydrogen may have radioprotective effects in cancer patients receiving radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy, with the currently available evidence showing no significant reduction in tumor response. This review was registered with INPLASY (INPLASY202680108).
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Registered trials
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.