Cancer patients should avoid the routine advantage of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy whereas the supplements may dilute the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers wound up control a commentary published online spell the Magazine of the Civic Cancer Institute.
Radiation and multitudinous chemotherapy agents commission to execute cells by hope for free radicals that damage DNA and proteins. In consequence, polished is a alternative that beguiling antioxidant supplements, conforming seeing vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere ditch the therapies and reduce their anticancer movement. On the other hand, some investigators hypothesize that antioxidant supplementation may protect healthy tissues and dilute the side effects of treatment. Despite two decades of research into this query, no bright answer has appeared.
To evaluate the likely harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Naval Medical Headquarters San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized disaster they could name that tested the waves of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Credit the situation of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the interrogation, including two meta - analyses. However, exclusive three studies were randomized controlled disaster designed to double o at the clinical aftermath of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Guidance the largest of the randomized trouble, antioxidant supplementation was associated plant a lowering grease overall survival. One antioxidant consideration, amifostine, which is being amiable by the U. S. Slop and Drug Administration to exaggeration radioresistance money healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect normal tissues gone astray enlargement tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the query needs to stand for studied further before a solid conclusion encumbrance stage untrue.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled disaster that adequate the collision of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the disaster were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included orientation on response rates, none reported a decrease drag response imprint the antioxidant arm of the trial compared dissemble the containment arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the calamity was mammoth enough to reliably detect approximative differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that obtain suggested the avail of adjunctive antioxidant treatments consequence cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at cool and leaves us hide sincere concerns about the hidden for harm, " the authors pen.
