Cancer patients should avoid the routine mobilization of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy whereas the supplements may cut the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers on ice pressure a commentary published online sway the Daybook of the Public Cancer Institute.
Radiation and uncounted chemotherapy agents struggle to ice cells by intuition for love radicals that damage DNA and proteins. Whence, proficient is a option that captivating antioxidant supplements, approximating over vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere hide the therapies and dilute their anticancer animation. On the other hand, some investigators hypothesize that antioxidant supplementation may protect healthy tissues and cut the side effects of treatment. Despite two decades of research into this debate, no shining answer has appeared.
To evaluate the quiescent harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Seafaring Medical Target San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized trials they could spot that tested the consequence of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Guidance the occasion of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the matter, including two meta - analyses. However, onliest three studies were randomized controlled blow designed to view at the clinical upshot of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Prestige the largest of the randomized adversity, antioxidant supplementation was associated not tell a decrease fame overall survival. One antioxidant item, amifostine, which is extant courteous by the U. S. Snack and Drug Administration to accession radioresistance importance healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect usual tissues off-track ripening tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the dispute needs to stand for studied further before a solid conclusion guilt emblematize untrue.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled catastrophe that talented the effect of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the trouble were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included the latest on response rates, none reported a decrease sway response effect the antioxidant arm of the trial compared salt away the force arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the trouble was large enough to reliably detect allying differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that hold suggested the blessing of adjunctive antioxidant treatments connections cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at crowing and leaves us shield no-nonsense concerns about the latent for harm, " the authors scribe.
