Antioxidants and Cancer Progression

Scientists say that the consumption of antioxidant supplements, which are used to boost health and slow down the aging process, may lead to melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. According to a report by AFP, new findings confirm previous research on the impact of a type of vitamin sold over the counter and another antioxidant-containing drug in increasing the number of cancer tumors. In a new study published in the journal Nature, American scientists demonstrated that human melanoma cells appeared in some mice that received the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) up to two months earlier than in other mice. The report states that 'the results indicate that antioxidants increase the chance of disease progression, at least in melanoma, by enhancing metastasis.' Metastasis refers to the spread and migration of cancer cells from one tissue to other tissues, often leading to the patient's death. According to these scientists, antioxidants apparently aid in cancer spread by attacking a type of molecule that can harm cancer cells. The results of this research have not been tested on humans, but scientists recommend that cancer patients avoid taking supplements containing substances that combat oxidation. Sean Morrison, one of the study's authors and a professor at the University of Texas, states that the belief that antioxidants are beneficial for the body has become so widespread that they are given to cancer patients in clinics: 'Some of these prescriptions should be stopped immediately because apparently patients receiving these antioxidants die faster.' Previous research conducted by Swedish researchers on mice showed that antioxidants, including vitamin E, increase the number of cancer tumors by up to three times and double the speed of mice deaths. Previous studies have shown similar results regarding breast and prostate cancers.