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Mesothelioma: A Killer
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Supplements may reduce some chemotherapy side effects
Last Updated: 2004-09-22 14:35:15 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Breast cancer patients who take a multivitamin or extra vitamin E experience a smaller decrease in important immune cells, a common side effect of chemotherapy, new research suggests.
Women who took a nutritional supplement, a multivitamin or extra vitamin E had a smaller drop in neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight bacterial infections. However, women with relatively high levels of B-vitamin folate had a larger drop in neutrophils.
Study author Dr. Richard F. Branda cautioned that chemotherapy patients should first discuss taking supplements with their doctors, because some supplements may interfere with treatment. For instance, cod liver oil and St. John's Wort may interfere with blood thinning drugs, hormone treatment or chemotherapy.
Previous research has also shown that an herbal dietary supplement that some men use to treat prostate cancer, called PC-SPES, may interfere with the anti-cancer activity of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, making it less effective.
However, studies have also shown that vitamin E may enhance the benefits and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, and many doctors now recommend vitamin therapy during treatment.
To investigate whether supplements help reduce side effects from chemotherapy, Branda and his colleagues asked 49 women with breast cancer to complete questionnaires detailing their use of supplements during chemotherapy.
The authors found that more than 70 percent of the women were taking at least one of 165 different types of supplements. On average, patients took three supplements. However, some women said they took up to 20 daily supplements during treatment.
The most common supplements were multivitamins, vitamin E and calcium.
Women who took multivitamins or vitamin E alone experienced a smaller decrease in their neutrophils during chemotherapy.
However, women with relatively high levels of the B-vitamin folate in their blood had a larger-than-average decrease in neutrophils, the authors report in the journal Cancer.
Branda, who is based at the University of Vermont in Burlington, explained that many cancer patients -- and people without cancer -- take supplements because they believe they are "natural," and could therefore only help them.
However, Branda noted that supplements typically consist of complex chemicals, which can have many possible effects on the metabolism of drugs and the functioning of cells. "These effects may be beneficial or detrimental and need to be studied further," he said.
For instance, based on the results with folate, Branda recommends that cancer patients avoid taking extra folate if they eat a balanced diet, because many foods are already fortified with folate, or folic acid.
SOURCE: Cancer, September 2004.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Genetic factors influence knee arthritis
Last Updated: 2004-09-22 16:18:45 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Genetic factors appear to play a role in the development of arthritis of the knee, according to a report in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Previous studies investigating possible genetic contributions to knee arthritis have been inconclusive, the authors explain, but recent studies suggest that the amount of cartilage in the knee, which is influenced by genetic factors, may determine the risk of arthritis.
To look for other genetic factors, Dr. G. Jones and colleagues, from Menzies Centre for Population Health Research in Tasmania, Australia, compared various features of 188 children who had at least one parent with knee arthritis with those of 188 similar kids with no family history of knee arthritis.
The amount of knee cartilage did not differ between the two groups of children, the authors report, but the shinbones of children with affected parents did display more bone area near the knee joint than the bones of comparison children.
Children of affected parents were also heavier and had higher body weight for height, more than twice the knee pain, and less lower limb strength than children of unaffected parents.
The results suggest that body weight, muscle strength, knee pain, and shin bone area are all genetic factors that influence the development of knee arthritis, the researchers conclude.
SOURCE: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, October 2004.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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