Research review
Does ginger help with cancer?
Ginger has not been shown to treat, prevent or shrink cancer in a human trial. What's been tested: ginger as an add-on to standard anti-nausea medication during chemotherapy (mixed results across trials), and ginger's effect on cancer cells in a lab dish (a different, much earlier kind of research).
Ginger has not been shown to treat, shrink or prevent cancer in any human trial. What's actually been studied: ginger as an add-on to standard anti-nausea medication during chemotherapy, with mixed results across trials, and ginger's effect on cancer cells in a lab dish — a different, much earlier kind of evidence than a human trial.
What the evidence doesn't support
It doesn't support ginger as a cancer treatment, in any form, dose or context. It doesn't support using ginger by itself, in place of anti-nausea medication, during chemotherapy — every trial below that showed a positive result tested ginger given alongside standard medication, with the medication still in use throughout. And it doesn't support the idea that a laboratory finding on cancer cells in a dish says anything about what ginger does in a person's body; that's a much earlier stage of research than a clinical trial.
What the trials found
Chemotherapy-related nausea. A 576-patient trial gave cancer patients 0.5-1.5 grams of ginger a day alongside their standard anti-nausea medication, and found less severe nausea on the first day of chemotherapy compared with patients who received a placebo alongside the same standard medication. A separate 119-patient trial in breast cancer patients on chemotherapy tested 500 mg of ginger twice daily for 3 days per cycle and found no significant difference in nausea or vomiting compared with placebo. A more recent 103-patient trial gave a standardized ginger capsule (84 mg/day of active gingerols and shogaols) alongside standard anti-emetic medication for 5 days per cycle, across three chemotherapy cycles, and found ginger improved nausea-related quality of life and reduced delayed nausea and vomiting at cycles 2 and 3, with no effect on same-day (acute) nausea, overall quality of life, anxiety or depression. Across these three trials, the result depends on which type of nausea and which timepoint is measured — in every one, standard anti-nausea medication was still given throughout, and none tested giving ginger on its own without it.
Cancer cells in a lab dish. A laboratory study exposed prostate cancer cells (a specific human cell line, grown in a dish, not in a person) to a ginger extract and measured effects on cell death and inflammation markers. The extract showed a toxic effect on the cells and altered several signaling pathways related to cell death. This is cell-culture research — it tells researchers something about mechanisms worth investigating further, but it is not a test of ginger in an animal or a person, and it does not establish that ginger treats or prevents prostate cancer or any other cancer.
| Trial | Population | Dose | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 576-person RCT | Cancer patients on chemotherapy | 0.5-1.5 g/day ginger, added to standard anti-nausea medication | Less severe nausea, day 1 |
| 119-person RCT | Breast cancer patients on chemotherapy | 500 mg twice daily, 3 days/cycle | No significant difference from placebo |
| 103-person RCT | Chemotherapy-naïve adults, moderate-to-high emetogenic chemotherapy | 84 mg/day active gingerols/shogaols, 5 days/cycle | Improved nausea-related quality of life; less delayed nausea; no effect on acute nausea |
| Lab study (in-vitro) | Prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) | Not applicable (cell-culture exposure) | Toxic effect on cells in a dish |
Questions people ask
Does ginger help with chemotherapy nausea?
The trials are mixed. Some found ginger, added to standard anti-nausea medication, reduced nausea at certain points during a chemotherapy cycle; one found no significant difference. None tested ginger by itself in place of standard medication.
Is ginger good for prostate cancer?
The only research we found is a laboratory study exposing prostate cancer cells to a ginger extract in a dish. That's not a test of ginger in a person, and it doesn't establish that ginger treats or prevents prostate cancer.
Can ginger cure cancer?
No. No trial has tested ginger as a cancer treatment or cure in people, and ginger is not a substitute for medical cancer treatment.
When to talk to a doctor
Cancer and chemotherapy-related nausea are both managed by an oncology team, and ginger is not a treatment for either. If nausea during chemotherapy isn't controlled by your current anti-nausea medication, that's worth raising with your care team — some of the trials above tested ginger as an add-on alongside standard medication, under medical supervision, not as a stand-alone approach. Always tell your oncology team about any supplement you're taking, since ginger can affect bleeding risk and may interact with other medications.
Related reading: ginger benefits: what the research does and doesn't show, ginger and medications: what to check, and who should not take ginger.
Sources
- Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients In a 576-patient trial, cancer patients taking 0.5-1.5 grams of ginger a day alongside their standard anti-nausea medication had less severe nausea on the first day of chemotherapy than those on placebo, with the biggest effect at the two lower doses tested.
- Efficacy of Ginger in Control of Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Doxorubicin-Based Chemotherapy In a 119-patient trial in breast cancer patients on chemotherapy, 500 mg of ginger twice daily for 3 days per cycle did not produce a significant difference in nausea or vomiting compared with placebo.
- Effect of a Standardized Ginger Root Powder Regimen on Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Multicenter, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial In 103 adults starting chemotherapy, a standardized ginger capsule taken alongside standard anti-nausea medication was linked to better nausea-related quality of life and less delayed nausea and vomiting in later cycles, compared with placebo.
- Effect of ginger, chamomile, and green tea extracts on prostate cancer cells A laboratory study found ginger extract was toxic to prostate cancer cells in a dish and affected several cell-death and inflammation pathways — a cell-culture finding, not a test of ginger in animals or people, and not evidence that ginger treats or prevents prostate cancer.
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