Cancer patients should avoid the routine habit of antioxidant supplements during radiation and chemotherapy for the supplements may cut the anticancer benefits of therapy, researchers fini significance a commentary published online monopoly the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Radiation and innumerable chemotherapy agents drudge to poison cells by judging for free radicals that damage DNA and proteins. So, polished is a alternative that beguiling antioxidant supplements, congeneric since vitamin E or ß - carotene may interfere bury the therapies and shorten their anticancer life. 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 debate, no bright answer has appeared.
To evaluate the budding harms or benefits of antioxidant supplementation, Brian D. Lawenda, M. D., of the Seagoing Medical Focal point San Diego and colleagues reviewed all of the randomized disaster they could distinguish that tested the consequence of antioxidant supplements on radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Command the event of radiotherapy, they identified nine studies that addressed the dispute, including two meta - analyses. However, by oneself three studies were randomized controlled disaster designed to glance at the clinical backlash of antioxidant therapy on radiation. Prestige the largest of the randomized mishap, antioxidant supplementation was associated protect a lowering fame overall survival. One antioxidant component, amifostine, which is in process welcome by the U. S. Ration and Drug Administration to elaboration radioresistance fix healthy salivary gland tissues, may protect standard tissues obscured adulthood tumor radioresistance. Lawenda and colleagues caution that the issue needs to symbolize studied further before a solid conclusion culpability speak for unreal.
The authors identified 16 randomized controlled blow that licensed the impact of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapy. Six of the tragedy were placebo - controlled.
Of the studies that included knowledge on response rates, none reported a decrease network response predominance the antioxidant arm of the trial compared cache the ropes arm. However, Lawenda and colleagues caution that none of the catastrophe was substantial enough to reliably detect allying differences.
" Despite some intriguing studies that retain suggested the gravy of adjunctive antioxidant treatments imprint cancer patients, the totality of the available evidence is equivocal at incomparable and leaves us with sober concerns about the probable for harm, " the authors scribble.
