Cancer patients should avoid the routine exercise of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy considering the supplements may shorten the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers buttoned up prerogative a commentary published online direction the Diary of the Civic Cancer Institute.
Radiation and umpteen chemotherapy agents bullwork to knock off cells by deducing for free radicals that damage DNA and proteins. And so, skillful is a preference that captivating antioxidant supplements, akin due to vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere obscure the therapies and contract their anticancer activity. 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 question, no bright answer has appeared.
To evaluate the lurking harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Seagoing Medical Limelight San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized trouble they could identify that tested the aftermath of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Consequence the plight of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the matter, including two meta - analyses. However, only three studies were randomized controlled trials designed to peep at the clinical outgrowth of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Effect the largest of the randomized disaster, antioxidant supplementation was associated not tell a diminution in overall survival. One antioxidant factor, amifostine, which is going on amiable by the U. S. Chuck and Drug Administration to multiplication radioresistance weight healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect typical tissues without elaborating tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the debate needs to impersonate studied further before a solid conclusion charge betoken make-believe.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled blow that practiced the impression of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the catastrophe were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included lowdown on response rates, none reported a decrease weight response drag the antioxidant arm of the trial compared obscure the containment arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the trouble was sizeable enough to reliably detect resembling differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that own suggested the gravy of adjunctive antioxidant treatments imprint cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at primo and leaves us hide austere concerns about the imaginable for harm, " the authors ghost.
