What This Review Looked At
Researchers from the Integrated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Southern Medical University published a comprehensive review in Frontiers in Oncology examining the evidence on hydrogen gas as a therapeutic agent in cancer treatment. The review synthesised findings from preclinical studies and early clinical trials across multiple cancer types and evaluated two distinct therapeutic roles for hydrogen: reducing the side effects of conventional cancer treatment, and directly inhibiting tumour growth.
Hydrogen gas belongs to a group of molecules known as gas signalling molecules — alongside oxygen, nitric oxide, and carbon monoxide — which play roles in cellular signalling and homeostasis. The review assessed hydrogen’s emerging place in this group, with a focus on its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties.
What They Found
The review identified evidence across two separate mechanisms.
The first concerns the protective role of hydrogen during conventional treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation cause significant collateral damage to healthy tissue, much of it driven by oxidative stress — an overproduction of reactive oxygen species that damages DNA, mitochondria, and cell membranes. As a selective antioxidant, hydrogen neutralises the most harmful of these radicals — specifically hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite — without suppressing the broader oxidative processes that support immune function and healing.
In animal studies, hydrogen-rich saline helped protect kidneys, ovaries, the heart, and the liver from cisplatin toxicity — one of the most effective but organ-damaging chemotherapy drugs in use. In human studies, patients with liver cancer who consumed hydrogen-rich water during radiotherapy reported reduced fatigue and better quality of life. Colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy showed less liver damage when hydrogen-rich water was introduced. Critically, in none of these studies did hydrogen reduce the anti-tumour effectiveness of the treatments it was used alongside.
The second mechanism concerns direct anti-tumour activity. In preclinical models, hydrogen gas was found to arrest the cell cycle at the G2/M stage in multiple cancer cell lines by inhibiting the expression of key cell cycle proteins including Cyclin D1, CDK4, and CDK6. In animal models, tumour growth was significantly reduced under hydrogen gas treatment, with decreased expression of Ki-67, VEGF, and SMC3 — markers associated with tumour proliferation and spread. Effects were observed across lung, ovarian, and glioblastoma models.
What This Means in Context
This is a narrative review published in 2019, and the authors are explicit that the application of hydrogen gas in cancer treatment was at that time still in its early stages. Further mechanistic research and larger clinical trials were called for. Since publication, the body of evidence has continued to grow — including the 2023 systematic review of 27 studies also available in our Science section.
The findings should be understood as promising preclinical and early clinical evidence, not established clinical protocol. Hydrogen therapy is not a replacement for conventional cancer treatment. Its most well-supported role is as a complementary approach — reducing treatment burden and protecting healthy tissue while conventional therapies do their work.
What It Means for You
If you or someone close to you is navigating a cancer diagnosis or going through chemotherapy or radiation, this review is part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that hydrogen therapy may be worth exploring as a supportive measure alongside your treatment plan. We always encourage open dialogue with your oncologist before introducing any complementary therapy.
Li, S., Liao, R., Sheng, X., Luo, X., Zhang, X., Wen, X., Zhou, J., & Peng, K. (2019). Hydrogen Gas in Cancer Treatment. Frontiers in Oncology, 9, 696. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2019.00696
