Vitamin/mineral therapy to deal with cancer therapy side effects.

February 12, 2007

"HSI - Jenny Thompson" < hsiresearch HSI e-Alert - Crossed PurposesWed, 15 Feb 2006 06:50:00 -0500Health Sciences Institute e-Alert****************************************************Dear Reader,Along with chronic diseases often comes a chronic side effect.An HSI member named Pam sent an e-mail with this question: "Do you have any information on Chronic Fatigue? I have a friend who has cancer. She said she is always tired and thinks she has chronic fatigue."It sounds like Pam's friend may be suffering from a condition called cachexia that affects people with cancer and other chronic diseases. Cachexia symptoms include a general loss of vitality characterized by poor appetite, weight loss, decomposition of muscle, and depression.One of the most unfortunate aspects of cachexia is that doctors may unwittingly add to the problem with well meaning advice that is

outdated and off the mark.-----------Nutrients get the boot-----------In a 2003 study of 200 patients with cachexia, UK researchers found that a daily high-calorie/high-protein supplement, enriched with vitamins C and E, and about 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids prompted a significantly higher rate of weight gain, increased lean body mass and improved quality of life compared to subjects who received a similar supplement, but without the added vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.Unfortunately, many doctors would reject this type of supplement regimen because of a belief that antioxidants interfere with chemotherapy and radiation therapies. Some of these types of cytotoxictherapies create free radicals that may help kill cancer cells. Researchers have theorized that antioxidant supplements might impede cytotoxic therapies. Some even suggest that patients treated withthese

therapies should avoid antioxidant-rich foods, which would cut virtually all fruits and vegetables from a cancer patient's diet.This theory was given a boost late last year with an article that appeared in the journal CA - A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (published by the American Cancer Society). The article was written byGabriella M. D'Andrea, M.D., of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. And the title of the article tells you just about everything you need to know about its content: "Use of Antioxidants DuringChemotherapy and Radiotherapy Should Be Avoided."In the e-Alert "What Would Hippocrates Do?" (10/4/05), I offered a rebuttal to Dr. D'Andrea's concept of denying key nutrients from patients who need them most. Now others have added their ownrebuttals, and they need to be heard and clearly understood by any cancer patient whose doctor believes that antioxidants may do

harm.-----------Call and response-----------On the web site for CA - A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, several doctors and nutritionists have submitted their reactions to Dr. D'Andrea's article.Hal Gunn, M.D., director of the Centre for Integrated Healing in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, writes: "Belief and opinion do not constitute science." He notes that Dr. D'Andrea doesn't mention any of thestudies in the "growing substantial body of supportive evidence" that demonstrate the significant benefits of antioxidant use during chemo and radiation.A clinical nutritionist named Neil E. Levine offers a more exhaustive rebuttal; complete with footnotes identifying many of the studies Dr. Gunn refers to. Here's a sampling of Mr. Levine's antioxidant defense: * Radiation and chemo treatments have been enhanced by vitamin Euse (Clinical Cancer

Research, 2002) * Vitamin E and selenium enhanced the effects of anticancer drugs(Pathology & Oncology Research, 2005) * Vitamins C and E have been shown to improve side effects of freeradical damage to normal cells caused by radiation and chemo(Integrated Cancer Therapies, 2004) * Prostate cancer cell cultures were sensitive to lycopene, whichincreased apoptosis (spontaneous cell death) and arrested the cellcycle (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 2005) * Recent studies show vitamin E may induce apoptosis in a widevariety of cancers, including breast, prostate, lung, colon, ovarianand cervical (Journal of Nutrition, 2004) * Several studies have demonstrated that antioxidants lessen sideeffects of chemo (Integrated Cancer Therapies, 2004) * Harsh radiation side effects were reduced

with high doses ofbeta-carotene and vitamin E (Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2005) * CoQ10 enhanced the efficacy of tamoxifen (Molecular and CellularBiochemistry, 2005) Mr. Levine also offers this quote from Patrick Quillin, Ph.D., the director of Nutrition, Cancer Treatment Centers of America: "Malnutrition actually kills about 40 percent of cancer patients."If you're being treated for cancer by a doctor who believes that antioxidants may interfere with your therapy, share this information with him and discuss the possibility that antioxidant use may in factbe one of the keys to cancer treatment success.****************************************************...and another thingExercise may offset the increased risk of Alzheimer's disease that comes with long-term use of pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to a new study.OR...you could reduce your Alzheimer's risk

even more by exercising AND avoiding long-term use of synthetic HRT.My how times have changed. There was a moment - back in the early days of synthetic HRT - when researchers believed this therapy helped prevent breast cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's. In recent years, however, studies have associated HRT use with an INCREASED risk of those diseases.But HRT is still around - still prescribed by many doctors and still used by many women - even though there are safe alternatives, such as balancing menopausal hormone changes with bioidentical hormones. (See the e-Alert "Where's the Shame?" (2/7/06) for details about bioidentical hormones and how executives for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have taken steps to obstruct women's right to choose this safer therapy.)In this new study, just published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, researchers investigated 54 menopausal women who used HRT for more than 10 years. This usage was associated with poorer

mental acuity test scores and a reduction in tissue volume in several areas of the brain. But these negative effects were reduced among women with higher fitness levels.To Your Good Health,Jenny Thompson****************************************************Sources:"Electronic Letters to: Gabriella M. D'Andrea / Use of AntioxidantsDuring Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy Should Be Avoided" CA - A CancerJournal for Clinicians, American Cancer Society, Vol. 55, No. 5,September/October 2005, caonline.amcancersoc.org"Exercise may Counter Mental Decline from HRT" Reuters Health,1/27/06, reutershealth.com**********