{"entity":{"id":"zinc-supplements","kind":"technology","name":"Zinc supplements for taste changes and mucositis","aka":["Zinc sulfate","Zinc gluconate"],"tldr":"Zinc is sometimes taken to protect taste or the mouth lining during radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Studies are mixed: it may reduce how often taste changes start during radiotherapy but does little once they have begun, and it did not prevent mouth sores in head and neck cancer. Doses above 100 mg a day can cause harm.","summary":"Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs entry describes mixed evidence for zinc in cancer care. Small studies suggest it may reduce infection or fatigue in some patients having chemotherapy. Supplementation reduced mucositis in some patients receiving radiation or chemotherapy but not in head and neck cancer, data on taste preservation and survival are mixed, and a meta-analysis suggests zinc may reduce the incidence of radiation-induced taste loss with minimal effect on established symptoms. On cancer risk, both deficiency and intake above 100 mg a day have been linked to prostate cancer. MSK warns that 100 to 300 mg a day can cause copper deficiency, depressed immune function, headache, fever and fatigue, that zinc-containing denture adhesives have caused copper deficiency with bone marrow suppression and neuropathy, and that intranasal zinc was withdrawn after more than 130 reports of lost sense of smell. Zinc reduces absorption of quinolone and tetracycline antibiotics (take it 2 hours before or 4 hours after) and of eltrombopag (at least 4 hours apart), and competes with iron.","status":"phase-2","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"MSK About Herbs: Zinc (page last updated 25 May 2022)","url":"https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/zinc"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","evidence:insufficient"],"related":["magnesium-supplements","calcium-supplements"],"cancers":[],"sections":["supportive-care","radiation","nutrition-lifestyle"],"technologies":["integrative-oncology","dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions","glutamine-mucositis-neuropathy"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-toxicity-qol"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Zinc is a cofactor for taste-bud renewal and epithelial repair, so deficiency impairs taste and healing; whether extra zinc helps people who are not deficient is the open question.","strengths":["Cheap; a meta-analysis signal for preventing radiation taste loss","Correcting deficiency is reasonable"],"limitations":["Did not prevent mucositis in head and neck cancer","Above 100 mg a day: copper deficiency and a prostate cancer signal","Binds several antibiotics and eltrombopag"]},"route":"/technologies/zinc-supplements/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"calcium-supplements","kind":"technology","name":"Calcium supplements during and after cancer treatment","route":"/technologies/calcium-supplements/"},{"id":"dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions","kind":"technology","name":"Dietary supplements during cancer treatment: interactions and harms","route":"/technologies/dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions/"},{"id":"integrative-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Evidence-based integrative oncology","route":"/technologies/integrative-oncology/"},{"id":"glutamine-mucositis-neuropathy","kind":"technology","name":"Glutamine for mucositis and neuropathy","route":"/technologies/glutamine-mucositis-neuropathy/"},{"id":"magnesium-supplements","kind":"technology","name":"Magnesium supplements","route":"/technologies/magnesium-supplements/"}],"section":[{"id":"nutrition-lifestyle","kind":"section","name":"Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle","route":"/fronts/nutrition-lifestyle/"},{"id":"radiation","kind":"section","name":"Radiation Therapy","route":"/fronts/radiation/"},{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-toxicity-qol","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued","route":"/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/"}]}}