Hydrogen Gas Helps Lung Cancer Patients Tolerate Treatment Better
Hydrogen therapy can be used to control tumor progression and alleviate the adverse events of medications in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer
Research hubs: Respiratory System · Immune System
- Evidence type
- Controlled trial (non-randomized) · Human study
- Authors
- Ke-Cheng Xu, Ji-Bing Chen, Xiao-Feng Kong, Feng Mu, Tian-Yu Lu, You-Yong Lu
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2020
- PMID
- 32541132
- Study Type
- Human
- Participants
- 58
- Delivery
- Gas
- Dose
- 4-5 hours per day for 5 months or until cancer recurrence
- H₂ concentration
- 66.7% H2
- Duration
- 16 months
- Funding
- No external funding declared
- Conflicts of interest
- None declared
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 43 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- China
TL;DR
Inhaling hydrogen gas was found to help control tumor growth and reduce side effects of cancer treatments in patients with advanced lung cancer.
Key Finding
Patients with advanced lung cancer who inhaled hydrogen gas combined with standard cancer treatments showed better progression-free survival and significantly fewer medication side effects compared to control groups over 16 months of follow-up.
Summary
This study tested whether inhaling hydrogen gas could help advanced lung cancer patients tolerate their cancer medications better and slow tumor growth. Fifty-eight patients either received hydrogen inhalation (4-5 hours daily for up to 5 months) alone, or combined it with chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy. After 16 months, patients who received hydrogen combined with standard cancer treatments had better survival without cancer progression and experienced fewer medication side effects compared to those who didn't receive hydrogen.
Practical Takeaway
While this early-stage human study suggests hydrogen inhalation may help reduce side effects from lung cancer medications, the sample size was small (58 patients total) and the study design had limitations. More rigorous, larger clinical trials would be needed before hydrogen therapy could be recommended as a standard supportive treatment for cancer patients. Anyone with cancer should discuss any complementary therapies with their oncologist before use.
Abstract (excerpt)
Chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy are used against advanced non-small cell lung cancer. A clinically efficacious method for relieving the adverse events associated of such therapies is lacking. Fifty-eight adult patients were enrolled in our trial to relieve pulmonary symptoms…