Effects of Red Ginseng on Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Microbiota After Surgery for Gastrointestinal Cancer

Inclusion criteria

• Pathologically diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancers (stomach cancer, pancreatobiliary cancer, colorectal cancer) prior to surgery.
• Clinically staged and anticipated to not receive adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery.
• Eligible for complete surgical resection (R0 resection).
• ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) score of 3 or below.
• Intereseted in health functional foods.
• Not consumed probiotics or prebiotics for at least three months prior to study enrollment.
• Willing to refrain from consuming additional probiotics or prebiotics during the study period, apart from the provided red ginseng tablets.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients aged 80 years or older.
• Patients who received neoadjuvant therapy before surgery.
• Patients with underlying gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, galactose intolerance, lactase deficiency, glucose-galactose malabsorption, short bowel syndrome, other hereditary gastrointestinal diseases, and autoimmune diseases).
• Patients unable to orally consume red ginseng tablets.
• Patients with a history of previous abdominal organ surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.
• Patients with intestinal obstruction before surgery.
• Patients regularly taking probiotic or prebiotic supplements.
• Patients requiring formation of an ileostomy after surgery.
• Patients with uncontrolled diabetes that may affect gastrointestinal function.
• Patients with underlying conditions such as liver failure or renal failure.
• Patients allergic to red ginseng.
• Patients who received more than two weeks of antibiotic treatment during hospitalization.