Antioxidants including vitamin E can promote lung cancer: study

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) – A decades-old medical mystery – why antioxidants such as vitamin E and beta carotene seemed to accelerate the growth of early lung tumors in high-risk populations such as smokers, rather than protect them from cancer, as theory suggests – may have been solved, according to research published on Wednesday. In essence, “antioxidants allow cancer cells to escape cells’ own defense system” against tumors, biologist Per Lindahl of Sweden’s University of Gothenburg and a co-author of the study told reporters. The findings imply that “taking extra antioxidants might be harmful and could speed up the growth of (any) tumors,” said biologist and co-author Martin Bergo of Gothenburg, adding, “If I had a patient with lung cancer, I would not recommend they take an antioxidant.” The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, did not examine whether antioxidants can also initiate lung cancer, rather than accelerate the growth of existing tumors.