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Do antioxidants interfere with radiation therapy for cancer? |
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Moss RW.
Cancer Communications, Lemont, Pennsylvania,
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Despite
recent comprehensive review articles concluding that supplemental
antioxidants do not undermine the effectiveness of cytotoxic therapies,
the use of antioxidants during cancer treatment remains controversial.
Many oncologists take the position that antioxidants by their nature
undermine the free radical mechanism of chemotherapy and radiotherapy
and should therefore generally be avoided during treatment. For their
part, many integrative practitioners believe that antioxidants taken
during cancer treatment not only alleviate some of the adverse effects
of that treatment but also enhance the efficacy of cancer therapy.
Until recently, research attention has focused primarily on the
interaction of antioxidants with chemotherapy; relatively little
attention has been paid to the interaction of antioxidants with
radiotherapy. This article reviews the clinical literature that has
addressed whether antioxidants do in fact interfere with radiation
therapy. Studies have variously investigated the use of
alpha-tocopherol for the amelioration of radiation-induced mucositis;
pentoxifylline and vitamin E to correct the adverse effects of
radiotherapy; melatonin alongside radiotherapy in the treatment of
brain cancer; retinol palmitate as a treatment for radiation-induced
proctopathy; a combination of antioxidants (and other naturopathic
treatments) and external beam radiation therapy as definitive treatment
for prostate cancer; and the use of synthetic antioxidants, amifostine,
dexrazoxane, and mesna as radioprotectants. With few exceptions, most
of the studies draw positive conclusions about the interaction of
antioxidants and radiotherapy. Although further studies are needed, the
preponderance of evidence supports a provisional conclusion that
dietary antioxidants do not conflict with the use of radiotherapy in
the treatment of a wide variety of cancers and may significantly
mitigate the adverse effects of that treatment.
Published in
Moss Integr Cancer Ther. 2007;
6:
281-292.
Full article (requires subscription).
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 September 2007 )
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