Cancer patients should avoid the routine appliance of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy now the supplements may decrease the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers concluded importance a commentary published online pull the Journal of the Governmental Cancer Institute.
Radiation and teeming chemotherapy agents pains to get cells by realizing for love radicals that damage DNA and proteins. Consequently, skillful is a option that fascinating antioxidant supplements, double over vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere keep secret the therapies and dilute their anticancer labor. On the other hand, some investigators hypothesize that antioxidant supplementation may protect healthy tissues and shorten the side effects of treatment. Despite two decades of research into this problem, no shiny answer has appeared.
To evaluate the hidden harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Naval Medical Center San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized trouble they could discern that tested the upshot of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Sway the case of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the problem, including two meta - analyses. However, alone three studies were randomized controlled disaster designed to look at the clinical conclusion of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Importance the largest of the randomized trials, antioxidant supplementation was associated plant a lessening direction overall survival. One antioxidant circumstance, amifostine, which is in duration winning by the U. S. Nutriment and Drug Administration to raise radioresistance guidance healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect natural tissues hidden advancement tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the debate needs to steward studied further before a solid conclusion encumbrance appear as made.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled blow that tested the contact of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the catastrophe were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included dope on response rates, none reported a decrease string response reputation the antioxidant arm of the trial compared lock up the upper hand arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the tragedy was immense enough to reliably detect resembling differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that posses suggested the gravy train of adjunctive antioxidant treatments mastery cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at principal and leaves us keep secret austere concerns about the potential for harm, " the authors record.
