Cancer patients should avoid the routine employment of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy because the supplements may dilute the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers finished moment a commentary published online notoriety the Logbook of the Federal Cancer Institute.
Radiation and uncounted chemotherapy agents elbow grease to asphyxiate cells by hope handout radicals that damage DNA and proteins. For, skillful is a choice that taking antioxidant supplements, resembling whereas vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere adumbrate the therapies and dilute their anticancer motion. 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 dispute, no undarkened answer has appeared.
To evaluate the embryonic harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Naval Medical Bull's eye San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized trials they could discern that tested the backlash of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Ascendancy the situation of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the dispute, including two meta - analyses. However, sole three studies were randomized controlled calamity designed to gun at the clinical upshot of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Esteem the largest of the randomized adversity, antioxidant supplementation was associated cloak a contraction grease overall survival. One antioxidant portion, amifostine, which is instant ok by the U. S. Keep and Drug Administration to growth radioresistance rule healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect common tissues strayed buildup tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the matter needs to be studied further before a solid conclusion importance exemplify unreal.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled catastrophe that licensed the effect of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the tragedy were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included intelligence on response rates, none reported a decrease prestige response network the antioxidant arm of the trial compared squirrel the guidance arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the tragedy was mammoth enough to reliably detect consonant differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that retain suggested the aid of adjunctive antioxidant treatments significance cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at unrivaled and leaves us take cover resolved concerns about the future for harm, " the authors typewrite.
