Don't Be Fooled- Lancet SUPPORTS Vitamins

[Guest guest]

This week there have been a lot of emails swirling around that said

the Lancet found that vitamins increase risk of death. This was

such an obvious attempt to use the media to scare people away from

safe vitamins to further the way of CODEX...

 

Here is the real scoop...

 

Comments?

 

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Lancet Antioxidant Cancer Trial Shows BENEFIT, Not Harm

from http://www.patrickholford.com

 

http://us.f529.mail./ym/ShowLetter?

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A study, published in the Lancet currently, on antioxidants and

gastrointestinal cancer, is being claimed to indicate that

antioxidants don't reduce risk, and may even increase cancer risk.

 

However, experts in nutrition and cancer say the study shows nothing

of the sort.

 

In my opinion this is one of the most biased and unsubstantiated

reports on antioxidants I've ever read. If you look at the actual

results of this supposed comprehensive analysis of research you

will see that the only really significant finding in a considerable

reduction in gastrointestinal cancer risk with selenium

supplementation. Overall, it shows that antioxidant supplements

reduce the risk of oesophageal cancer, have little effect on

pancreatic or oesophageal cancer, and slightly increase the risk of

gastric cancer. Overall, the clear trend is towards protection, not

harm. I believe this is an underestimation of the prevention power of

antioxidants because this claimed comprehensive analysis of research

excludes some very well designed positive studies, such as a trial

of 864 people with a history of colorectal adenomas, by the National

Cancer Institute (1).

 

The participants were given either 25mg of betacarotene and/or both

100mg of vitamin C and 400mg of vitamin E, versus placebo. While

there was approximately a halving of recurrence of colorectal

adenomas in those who took either the betacarotene or vitamin C and

E or both, there was a modest increase in cancer recurrence among

those who only took betacarotene supplements and both smoked and

drank alcohol every day. Why was this trial excluded? Perhaps it

didn't give the results the researchers wanted.

 

The final table in the Lancet study, which is the only one showing a

small negative overall effect on mortality (the difference between 1

in 14 cancer patients on antioxidants, versus 1 in 15 cancer

patients), was arrived at by removing any positive studies on

the grounds of 'low methodological quality', leaving only 7 studies

out of the original 167 studies! Of these studies, one is quoted

as showing a massive increased risk. Without this study there is no

such effect.

 

However, this study actual showed the exact opposite. The study in

question, Correa et al (2), published in the Journal of the National

Cancer Institute, gave people with gastric cancer either beta-

carotene, vitamin C or anti-Helicobacter Pylori treatment (gastric

cancer is increasingly being thought to be initiated by H.Pylori

infection, not antioxidant deficiency). All three interventions

produced highly significantly improvements, causing substantial

regression of gastric cancer. The authors conclude " dietary

supplementation with antioxidant micronutrients may interfere with

the precancerous process, mostly by increasing the rate of

regression of cancer precursor lesions, and may be an effective

strategy to prevent gastric carcinoma. " (see abstract below).

 

So, how could this study bias the results towards increased

mortality? For the simple reason that six people out of 368 treated

with antioxidants died, many of whom were smokers, compared to none

out of 117 people treated with anti- H.Pylori treatment died! The

most logical explanation for this finding is that, by virtue of

participating in this trial, these patients were excluded from

taking anti- H.Pylori treatment, which is highly recommended for

gastric cancer. It is highly unlikely that the antioxidants had

anything to do with it. The authors of this study make no reference

to the possibility of antioxidants increasing mortality risk, instead

concluding that both beta-carotene and vitamin C reduce risk.

 

A review of the Lancet study (also published in the Lancet) by David

Forman and Douglas Altman of the Centre for Epidemiology and

Biostatistics says " The mortality analysis in this review does not

offer convincing proof of hazard. " In my opinion this is the most

atrocious piece of biased number crunching, and I'm surprised that

the Lancet published it. The funding source for this trial

should be seriously investigated, just to check it is not as biased

as the rhetoric.

 

Drug companies have a lot to gain by discrediting nutritional

treatments and I have no doubt that there is an orchestrated

campaign under way to do just this. I certainly won't be

stopping my daily antioxidant supplement, although I wouldn't advise

heavy smokers to supplement beta-carotene on its own. I would

advise people wanting to reduce their cancer risk to supplement 50 to

150mcg of selenium, together with other antioxidant nutrients. "

 

Patrick Holford.

 

References

 

1 Baron, J et al., 'Neoplastic and antineoplastic effects of

beta-carotene on volorectal adenoma', J Natl Cancer Inst. 95, 10,

pp. 717-22 (2003).

 

2 Correa P et al., 'Chemoprevention of gastric dysplasia:randomised

trial of antioxidant supplements and anti-helicobacter pylori

therapapy', J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Dec 6;92(23):1881-8.

 

ABSTRACT OF THE CRITICAL STUDY

 

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Dec 6;92(23):1881-8. Chemoprevention of

gastric dysplasia: randomized trial of antioxidant supplements and

anti-helicobacter pylori therapy. Correa P, Fontham ET, Bravo JC,

Bravo LE, Ruiz B, Zarama G, Realpe JL, Malcom GT, Li D, Johnson

WD, Mera R.Department of Pathology, Louisiana State University Health

Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112-1393, USA.

 

BACKGROUND: Previous research has identified a high risk of gastric

carcinoma as well as a high prevalence of cancer precursor lesions

in rural populations living in the province of Narino,

Colombia, in the Andes Mountains.

 

METHODS: A randomized, controlled

chemoprevention trial was conducted in subjects with confirmed

histologic diagnoses of multifocal nonmetaplastic atrophy and/or

intestinal metaplasia, two precancerous lesions. Individuals were

assigned to receive anti-Helicobacter pylori triple therapy and/or

dietary supplementation with ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, or their

corresponding placebos. Gastric biopsy specimens taken at baseline

were compared with those taken at 72 months. Relative risks of

progression, no change, and regression from multifocal

nonmetaplastic atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were analyzed with

multivariate polytomous logistic regression models to estimate

treatment effects. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS:

All three basic interventions resulted in statistically significant

increases in the rates of regression: Relative risks were 4.8 (95%

confidence interval [CI] = 1.6-14.2) for anti-H. pylori treatment,

5. 1 (95% CI = 1.7-15.0) for beta-carotene treatment, and 5.0 (95%

CI = 1.7-14.4) for ascorbic acid treatment in subjects with atrophy.

Corresponding relative risks of regression in subjects with

intestinal metaplasia were 3.1 (95% CI = 1.0-9.3), 3.4 (95% CI =

1.1-9.8), and 3.3 (95% CI = 1.1-9.5). Combinations of treatments did

not statistically significantly increase the regression rates.

Curing the H. pylori infection (which occurred in 74% of the treated

subjects) produced a marked and statistically significant increase

in the rate of regression of the precursor lesions (relative

risks = 8.7 [95% CI = 2.7-28.2] for subjects with atrophy and 5.4

[95% CI = 1.7-17.6] for subjects with intestinal metaplasia).

 

CONCLUSIONS: In the very high-risk population studied, effective

anti-H. pylori treatment and dietary supplementation with antioxidant

micronutrients may interfere with the precancerous process, mostly

by increasing the rate of regression of cancer precursor lesions,

and may be an effective strategy to prevent gastric carcinoma

 

1. Baron, J et al., 'Neoplastic and antineoplastic effects of

beta-carotene on volorectal adenoma', Journal of the National

Cancer Institute 95, 10, pp. 717-22 (2003).