Presented by: Zheyu Xiong MD
Department of Urology and Institute of Urology (Laboratory of Reconstructive Urology), and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.

Introduction

Urinary symptoms associated with radiation cystitis (RC) are common in patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy (RT). There are still conflicting conclusions regarding the effectiveness of cranberry in preventing urinary symptoms associated with RC. This study was designed to determine whether cranberry products can prevent urinary symptoms associated with RC.

Materials

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that investigated the effectiveness of cranberry in the prevention of urinary symptoms associated with RC were included. The secondary outcome was reported as the number of patients who developed urinary tract infection (UTI) after RT. Random effect or fixed effect models were chosen for statistical analysis based on the heterogeneity.

Results

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Five RCTs and one cohort study were included in this study. The results showed that cranberry products could reduce the risk of urinary symptoms associated with RC after pelvic RT by 24% (P = 0.02, RR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.60-0.96). However, cranberry products couldn’t reduce the risk of UTI after pelvic RT (P = 0.11, RR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.29-1.13). Subgroup analyses showed that the protective effect of cranberry on urinary symptoms was seen only in studies that used placebo controls and not in studies that might have used active controls.

Conclusion

Our meta-analysis indicated that cranberry could reduce the risk of urinary symptoms associated with RC but not reduce the risk of UTI after pelvic RT.

Funding

This study was supported by National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric, West China Hospital, Sichuan University (Y2021LC005).

Co-Authors

Chi Yuan, MD
Department of Urology and Institute of Urology (Laboratory of Reconstructive Urology), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.

Kunjie Wang, MD
Department of Urology and Institute of Urology (Laboratory of Reconstructive Urology), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.