Antioxidants Could Spur Lung Cancer Growth

A new study has found that antioxidants might make cancer grow faster. Antioxidants have been hailed as a treatment for everything, but not in the case of cancer.

Study on mice suggests people at risk of lung cancer or at risk for the disease should avoid antioxidant supplements. The researchers found that antioxidants accelerated cancer progression by blocking one of the body's key immune responses to malignant cells.

In the trials, it was found that normal doses of vitamin E and smaller doses of the antioxidant supplement acetylcysteine spurred the growth of tumours in mice with early lung cancer. Besides a threefold increase in the number of tumours, it made tumours become more aggressive.

According to one of the study authors, Dr. Martin Bergo, antioxidants caused the mice to die twice as fast, and the effect was dose-dependent. If we gave a small dose, tumors grew a little. If we gave a high dose, tumors grew a lot.

The study was published in latest issue of Science Translational Medicine.

(source: Everyday Health)

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