Condition

Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancers arise in the mouth, throat, voice box, sinuses, or salivary glands, and treatment can make eating and swallowing hard. The evidence is strongest for protein supplements, aimed at maintaining muscle mass when swallowing limits intake, and moderate for glutamine, studied for radiation-related mouth sores. Calendula improved mouth-sore symptoms in one small trial of 40 people, but that evidence is limited.

Sources: PMID 23497687

Supplements studied: 3
Graded outcomes: 1
Trials: 2
People studied: 22,118

Evidence by supplement

Strong
Moderate
Limited
Very limited

3 supplements

Calendula Officinalis

Calendula Officinalis: outcomes studied for Head and Neck Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Mucositis Symptoms Small Improvement	Improves (the measure goes down)	Small effect	1 study	40 people
Studies that measured mucositis symptoms Antioxidant capacity of calendula officinalis flowers extract and prevention of radiation induced oropharyngeal mucositis in patients with head and neck cancers: a randomized controlled clinical study.Daru · PMID 23497687

Zinc

Zinc: outcomes studied for Head and Neck Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Mucositis Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		4 studies	30 people
Studies that measured mucositis symptoms Zinc sulfate in the prevention of radiation-induced oropharyngeal mucositis: a prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized studyInt J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys · PMID 14697435 The effect of zinc sulfate in the prevention of high-dose chemotherapy-induced mucositis: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studyHematol Oncol · PMID 21692101 A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of zinc sulfate supplementation for alleviation of radiation-induced oral mucositis and pharyngitis in head and neck cancer patientsJ Med Assoc Thai · PMID 23720981 and 1 more on the Zinc page

Probiotics

Probiotics: outcomes studied for Head and Neck Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Mucositis Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)		2 studies	691 people
Studies that measured mucositis symptoms Efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Microb Pathog · PMID 38971507 The effect of probiotics on severe oral mucositis in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy: A meta-analysis.J Stomatol Oral Maxillofac Surg · PMID 39187039

Key findings

Mucositis SymptomsCalendula OfficinalisImproves (the measure goes down)

The Head and Neck Cancer Supportive Care protocol

2 primary supplements · 3 supporting supplements

Glutamine10–30 g daily during radiation treatment
Omega-3 Fatty Acids2–3 g EPA+DHA daily

See the full protocol

Studies cited

1 study from PubMed

Effect of nonpharmacological interventions on nutrition status, complications and quality of life in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Int J Nurs Pract · PMID 38840131