Lifescript–August 12, 2009–Many women who undergo treatment for breast cancer think that taking antioxidant-type supplements will help them recover more quickly from therapy and improve their health. There’s no evidence to support this; in fact, some research suggests supplements may be harmful. This contradiction creates a dilemma for women and their doctors when trying to choose the best breast cancer treatment.

Antioxidants – such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, melatonin, selenium, and lipoic acid- are found in many dietary supplements. They are used in an effort to combat the destructive effects of free radicals; for cancer and coronary heart disease prevention; and for the treatment of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.

One study reviewed 68 randomized trials that tracked the health impact of antioxidant supplementation, which included more than 230,000 participants. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the study found that certain supplements – such as vitamins A and E and beta-carotene – increased the mortality rate in the populations studied.

Another study raises concerns about women continuing to take antioxidant supplements during breast cancer treatment, although the consequences are unknown. Cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy may work by generating free radicals that attack tumor cells. Could it be that antioxidants interfere with therapy by disabling the free radicals that may destroy cancer cells?

A Columbia University study, tracking antioxidant use among breast cancer patients, cautioned that the common use of antioxidant supplements during breast cancer treatment calls for future research to address the effects of supplementation on breast cancer outcomes, including response to therapy, cancer recurrence, and survival.

Bottom line: Patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer should discuss supplement use with their physician. Most doctors feel there is no need to restrict diets that naturally include antioxidant-type vitamins, but many express concern about the unsupervised use of supplements during cancer therapy.