Head and neck cancer patients typically have difficulty eating as they once did. Feeding tubes are necessary for many to obtain adequate nutrition. Cancer treatment and poor nutrition, though, can lead to oxidative stress — a harmful condition where the body accumulates excess “free radicals” (unstable molecules) and not sufficient antioxidants to fight them off. The imbalance can damage cells, worsen disease, and hinder healing.
This study investigated whether resveratrol, which is a plant compound naturally contained in grapes, berries, and even red wine, was efficacious in modulating oxidative stress in these patients. Resveratrol is one that purportedly has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, whose potential has already been promising on other diseases.
Researchers had patients receiving home enteral nutrition (tube feeding) take supplements of resveratrol, which is naturally occurring, and measured markers of oxidative stress within their systems. They wanted to see if it was possible that this natural agent could lower the destructive oxidative damage and, by extension, the patients’ health and quality of life during the course of cancer.
The researchers’ observation shows resveratrol could potentially reduce some indicators of oxidative stress, which would further support the case that nutrition-based interventions can assist with cancer therapy — but further tests need to be done to confirm its long-term implications.
Scientists asked themselves whether a grape nutrient might battle the ugly effects that the bodies of cancer patients experience due to their diseases and treatments.
Full text: Michał Ławiński, Katarzyna Zadka, Natalia Ksepka, Maima Matin, Kamil Wysocki, Dominika Karkocha, Aleksandra Gradowska, Atanas G. Atanasov, Maciej Słodkowski, Agnieszka Wierzbicka, Artur Jóźwik, Does Resveratrol Impact Oxidative Stress Markers in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Receiving Home Enteral Nutrition?, Nutrients 2025, 17(3), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17030504.