Busting a Myth: Antioxidants and Chemotherapy

Less than 10 years ago, a researcher stirred up controversy when he reported in the journal Oncology that cancer patients who took antioxidant supplements had poorer responses to chemotherapy and radiation.

That was in 1999, and in the years since then scores of studies have demonstrated that antioxidants help cancer patients live longer while improving quality of life.

And yet the debate goes on. In 2005, Gabriella M. D’Andrea, M.D., of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, published an article with this title: "Use of Antioxidants During Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy Should Be Avoided." The title says it all, of course. And because the article was published in an American Cancer Society journal, the message was clear: We’re mainstream establishment. Don’t interfere with our drug therapies.

Fortunately the alternative healthcare community ignored that absurd message, as we see in a new study that strongly rebukes the notion that antioxidants can somehow do cancer patients harm.

Poison in, nutrients out

Cytotoxic therapies (such as chemo and radiation therapies) create free radicals. Some believe these therapies depend on free radicals to kill cancer cells. And some proponents of this theory even suggest that patients treated with cytotoxic therapies should avoid antioxidant-rich foods – which would basically cut fruits and vegetables from their diets.

Right. Pour poison into a cancer patient’s blood stream while removing key sources of high quality nutrients. I have no idea how that scheme makes sense to anyone.

The new antioxidant study comes from the Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Education in Evanston, IL, where researchers combed through several databanks to come up with 19 randomized clinical trials that evaluated the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy.

The 19 trials included more than 1,500 subjects, and most had advanced or relapsed cancers. Seven trials evaluated the antioxidant glutathione, four evaluated melatonin, and the remaining trials examined vitamins A, C, and E, N-acetylcysteine, ellagic acid, or an antioxidant mixture.

Results showed no significant decreases in chemotherapy effectiveness when used with antioxidant supplements. In fact, the supplements may have INCREASED chemo effectiveness. Writing in the May 2007 issue of Cancer Treatment Reviews, the authors note: "Many of the studies indicated that antioxidant supplementation resulted in either increased survival times, increased tumor responses, or both."

As for quality of life measures, in 17 trials that assessed chemotherapy toxicities (such as weight loss, low blood count, nerve damage, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.), 15 trials showed that subjects who received antioxidants had fewer side effects than control group subjects who didn’t receive supplements.

Where to start

The results of the Evanston study are welcome, but they’re not really surprising. As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, one of the foremost authorities on alternative cancer treatments – Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. – has advocated antioxidant therapy for many years.

At a 2001 symposium, Dr. Moss gave a speech that included this comment: "We can reassure patients that the overwhelming mass of data accumulated so far supports the concurrent use of chemotherapy with dietary antioxidants." That was one year after Dr. Moss published a book titled "Antioxidants Against Cancer" in which he outlined the ways antioxidants enhance the effectiveness of cytotoxic treatments while minimizing their side effects. Dr. Moss’ book can be found on amazon.com.

There are many different types of chemotherapy, of course, just as there are many types of antioxidants. Decisions about which antioxidants to use with which chemotherapies should be made with professional help from doctors who are familiar with alternative therapies.

Vitamin C is probably the most common antioxidant therapy for cancer. Research has shown that high doses of vitamin C administered intravenously can kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact. You can find more information in the e-Alert "Hot Buttons" (1/18/07) at this link:

http://www.hsionline.com/ealerts/ea200701/ea20070118a.html

Sources:
"Impact of Antioxidant Supplementation on Chemotherapeutic Efficacy: A Systematic Review of the Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials" Cancer Treatment Reviews, May 2007, sciencedirect.com