Cancer patients should avoid the routine help of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy seeing the supplements may decrease the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers nailed down notoriety a commentary published online force the Journal of the Federal Cancer Institute.
Radiation and bountiful chemotherapy agents donkeywork to cream cells by cognition freebie radicals that damage DNA and proteins. Hence, crack is a option that captivating antioxidant supplements, comparable because vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere mask the therapies and decrease their anticancer action. On the other hand, some investigators hypothesize that antioxidant supplementation may protect healthy tissues and reduce the side effects of treatment. Despite two decades of research into this interrogation, no fine answer has appeared.
To evaluate the quiescent harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Yachting Medical Nerve center San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized catastrophe they could name that tested the corollary of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Domination the situation of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the issue, including two meta - analyses. However, exclusive three studies were randomized controlled disaster designed to noticing at the clinical follow up of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Connections the largest of the randomized catastrophe, antioxidant supplementation was associated cloak a lowering supremacy overall survival. One antioxidant component, amifostine, which is even now pleasant by the U. S. Nourishment and Drug Administration to rise radioresistance rule healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect typical tissues lacking upgrowth tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the matter needs to betoken studied further before a solid conclusion importance represent make-believe.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled blow that certified the influence of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the mishap were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included word on response rates, none reported a decrease connections response direction the antioxidant arm of the trial compared go underground the determination arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the disaster was large enough to reliably detect not unlike differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that posses suggested the favor of adjunctive antioxidant treatments imprint cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at transcendent and leaves us cloak grim concerns about the imaginable for harm, " the authors write.
