Should you take anti-oxidants whilst undergoing chemo or radiotherapy

Should you take anti-oxidants whilst undergoing chemo or radiotherapy

Antioxidants and natural compounds can improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Fact.

Recently, I was asked by a lady with Breast cancer about taking antioxidants at the same time as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. She had been told by her nurse not to take curcumin with her 5-FU drug, part of her FEC-T breast cancer treatment in the U.K. (Writes Chris Woollams)

Antioxidant Curcumin makes chemo work better

Within 20 minutes of searching on the Web, I had found 7 clinical studies showing that, far from being a problem, curcumin made chemotherapy drugs work better.

Go to: Curcumin makes Chemotherapy drugs work better

Should this surprise us? Not at all. One of the most stupid phrases you will hear uttered by doctors and nurses is that an antioxidant protects cells and that they don’t want cancer cells ’protected’ while they use chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Sadly, this comment is just born out of ignorance. The biochemistry of a cancer cell is completely different to that of a healthy cell. Apples and oranges. What protects a healthy cell is unlikely to afford any protection to a cancer cell. In fact, quite probably the opposite. And curcumin has a harmful effect on several unique processes (like the M-TOR pathway) only found in a cancer cell. Curcumin does protect healthy cells. But it damages cancer cells and it sensitises them, which makes chemotherapy work better. 

Oxygen and exercise make chemo and radiotherapy work better

Many ’treatments’ sensitise cancer cells, ensuring MORE are killed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Surely, the biggest anti-oxidant is oxygen itself. There is clear research on this. For example, increasing your blood oxygen levels by exercising or using Hyperbaric Oxygen renders cancer cells more sensitive to attack. More then get killed by the orthodox treatment.

Melatonin makes chemo work better

Sloan Kettering in New York have shown much the same for melatonin. Melatonin is normally produced by your pineal gland about 45 minutes after you fall asleep. It knocks you into a deeper sleep. But, few people understand that Melatonin is the largest antioxidant we animals make. And combined with the fact that it is a strong anti-inflammatory, it is why sleep is so healing. But numerous studies have shown it can regulate oestrogen and growth hormone in the body, and it has epigenetic actions against cancer cells, ’correcting them’. Sloan Kettering showed that using melatonin with chemotherapy produced a 40 per cent increased one year survival, and a 93 per cent better chance of the tumour disappearing.

Go To: Sloan Kettering, melatonin enhances chemotherapy

Vitamin C makes chemotherapy work better

The ultimate antioxidant is probably vitamin C, and it is usually this doctors most want you to avoid. Again they are wrong. First Kansa Medical School in 2012, and then Ohio State Medical School in 2016 have shown that Intravenous vitamin C used with chemotherapy drugs actually produces a significant increase in survival times, the latter work being done in full clinical trials on patients with brain tumours and non-small cell lung cancer.

Go To: Intravenous Vitamin C slows tumour growth and increases survival times

A number of treatments, supplements and bioactive compounds improve the success of radiotherapy too.

Go To: 20 ways to improve your radiotherapy experience

Do chemotherapy drugs prevent antioxidants working?

Perhaps we should be asking the question the other way round? 

The fact is that no chemotherapy drug kills off the cancer stem cells - the 3% of cancer cells in the heart of the tumour that control everything. Chemo can knock a cancer back 40%, 50% even 70%. But if you don’t kill off the cancer stem cells they can regrow. Dr. Young S. Kim of the National Cancer Institute in the USA has stated from her research that a poor diet will help the cancer stem cells and the tumour re-grow. But foods containing bioactive natural compounds, and even just taking the same in supplements, can stop that regrowth. Her list included sulphoraphanes, curcumin, piperine, resveratrol, genistein, vitamin E, vitamin A, choline and EGCG which can all stop these cancer cells regrowing and rebuilding the tumour. But then, it is well known now that chemo can encourage cancers to regrow. Maybe you shouldn’t have chemo while taking your antioxidants?

But don’t think it is just about bioactive compounds. 2016 research showed that taking a probiotic containing bifidobacterium could make docetaxel work as well as if you added one of the new wonder immunotherapies!

I think I would want to use supplements alongside any chemo drugs, wouldn’t you?

Sorry, but Doctors have no idea about diet, supplements or antioxidants 

Sadly, Doctors have little understanding of nutrition, less on natural compounds and have little time to read anything. In icon we reported on the senior Australian Government Medical Advisor who has set up a website for doctors to tell them about drugs and pharmaceutical clinical trials, listing all benefits and side effects, because he was so concerned that doctors only get that information from PR releases and media coverage, both of which are provided by the pharmaceutical companies themselves and may be biased.

Doctors rarely ever study nutrition at Medical School and do not pass exams in it.

Bioactive compounds are now well researched

Elsewhere on this web site we have covered the tome by John Boik, who in 2001 was one of the senior staff at the prestigious MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas. This book is over an inch thick, and called ’Natural Compounds in cancer therapy’. It contains over 4000 references to scientific papers and basically concludes that, far from in some way interfering with the biochemical process involved in chemo or radiotherapy, taking anti-oxidants actually improves the success rates of both. Support for this stance came in 2005 again covered in icon Cancer Watch, when UCLA produced the conclusion that healthy cells are self-regulators and will pick up the maximum concentrations of antioxidants available in order to maximize their biochemical processes. However cancer cells have lost most of this regulatory ability and will overload on anti-oxidants. Their view is that this is what sensitises the cancer cells and what HELPS the chemo or radio kill them off.

Some antioxidants are even approved by the FDA for use with chemo!

In certain cases (e.g. the use of amifostine) some specific antioxidants are actually approved by the FDA and recommended for use with chemotherapy and are known to have enhancing benefits in, say, oral and lung cancers and child leukemia.

The whole matter has recently been highlighted by Ralph W. Moss PhD, the famous US cancer researcher. In a paper ’Should patients undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy be prescribed antioxidants?’ (Integrative Cancer Therapies Vol 5, 1; 63-82. http://ict.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/5/1/63. Also on PubMed) Moss expertly takes the reader through the myriad of research, including clinical trials, stating clearly that the DAndrea paper was incomplete and that there is far more information available than either she included or is widely acknowledged. His conclusion is that a blanket rejection of the concurrent use of anti-oxidants with chemotherapy is not justified by the preponderance of evidence. For the more scientifically biased amongst our readers we have listed below some of the main scientific references on this subject.

Many drugs are not actually ’chemotherapy’

Consider the drug Tamoxifen for example. It blocks estrogen receptor sites on cells and is used to increase survival times in breast cancer where the woman is pre-menopausal. Many women know of the side-effects of Tamoxifen.

In 2004, our magazine icon carried clinical research that showed vitamin E supplementation could enhance Tamoxifen so that it provided the same positive benefits, but at a 25 per cent lowered drug dosage. Melatonin has shown similar benefits, as has Indole 3 Carbinol.

Great for the patient but not so great for the profitability of the pharmaceutical company concerned. We doubt any oncologist has even noticed the research. 

But why would you not halve the dose and use vitamin E and melatonin (two antioxidants)?

By the way, the new immunotherapies work better if you take a simultaneous probiotic.

If taking antioxidants is bad, why tell us to eat fruit and vegetables instead?

Ralph Moss raises another important point - one we have repeatedly made. If taking anti-oxidants is of such a concern, why do many of the same oncologists tell the patient to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables instead? Is it because they believe fresh fruit and vegetables are devoid of antioxidants these days and thus can’t interfere with their chemotherapy? Or is it because they are fearful of the synthetically produced ones? (Just as we are! In icon we continually tell you to take the natural forms). 

Perhaps it is neither of these. Perhaps they are just not aware of the enormous amount of research in the US alone.  However, the answer may lie in an article from the early days of icon, when Dr. Graham Henderson wrote a piece for us telling our readers just why UK Doctors were so negative towards complementary therapies. To summarise: UK Doctors want to be the fount of all knowledge for their patients, and many have neither studied formally, nor had the time to study since leaving medical school, these complementary therapies and especially nutrition. (Only recently a newly qualified doctor was in our offices openly stating that (apart from a morning on combating heart disease) she had not spent one day formally studying nutrition in her whole seven years training!) As Dr. Henderson concluded, most UK Doctors are outside their both knowledge and comfort zones.

Nothing brings this home more than reading Moss conclusions, one of which is that Patients would be well advised to seek the opinion of physicians who are adequately trained and experienced in the intersection of 2 complex fields, that is, chemotherapy and nutritional oncology.

If all UK NHS oncologists who qualify could please e-mail us on [email protected] with their name, phone number and qualifications we will happily publish a list in icon magazine and on our website. This debate will not be settled until we have more experts who are fully qualified in both oncology and nutritional therapy.

Meanwhile, a similar view on the benefits and the increasingly vacuous criticism of natural compounds as beneficial adjuncts to chemo and radiotherapy can be found in the article on Herbs by the expert Alan Hopking in icon Issue 3 2006.

For the record, we continue to recommend that all patients having chemo and radiotherapy supplement using natural supplements (like Chlorella, garlic, astragalus, Aloe Vera, medicinal mushrooms, green tea, selenium, natural vitamin E, probiotics, cur cumin, vitamin D etc) and we increasingly find positive research-based evidence.  (For example:  Prasad K. N:  Int. Cancer Therapies 2004, 3:3, 310-323.  Multiple dietary antioxidant therapies enhance the efficacy of standard and experimental cancer therapies and decrease their toxicity). 

But we especially recommend that patients load up on the foods that can provide them with the biggest range of cancer fighting agents possible.

Rainbow diet          At last, the definitive, research-based book on how to build a diet to help beat cancer. Click here to read about it.

References:

For those of you who want to check the scientific references used, we have selected a mere 75 from those recorded by Ralph Moss. See below!

************************************************************************

 

 

Some detailed references:


  • D’Andrea GM. Use of antioxidants during chemotherapy and radiotherapy should be avoided. CA Cancer J Clin. 2005;55:319-321

  • Parker-Pope T. Cancer and vitamins: patients urged to avoid supplements during treatment. Wall Street Journal. September 20, 2005:D1.

  • Cohen MH. Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Legal Boundaries and Regulatory Perspectives. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press; 1997.

  • Moss RW. Antioxidants Against Cancer. Brooklyn, NY: Equinox Press; 2000.

  • Prasad KN. Multiple dietary antioxidants enhance the efficacy of standard and experimental cancer therapies and decrease their toxicity. Integr Cancer Ther. 2004;3:310-322.

  • Conklin KA. Dietary antioxidants during cancer chemotherapy: impact on chemotherapeutic effectiveness and development of side effects. Nutr Cancer. 2000;37:1-18.

  • Conklin K. Chemotherapy-associated oxidative stress: impact on chemotherapeutic effectiveness. Integr Cancer Ther. 2004;3:294-300.

  • Jiang Q, Wong J, Fyrst H, Saba JD, Ames BN. Gammatocopherol or combinations of vitamin E forms induce cell death in human prostate cancer cells by interrupting sphingolipid synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004;101:17825-17830.

  • Ferrari CK. Functional foods, herbs and nutraceuticals: towards biochemical mechanisms of healthy aging. Biogerontology. 2004;5:275-289.

  • Drisko JA, Chapman J, Hunter VJ. The use of antioxidant therapies during chemotherapy. Gynecol Oncol. 2003;88:434-439.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Chen Q, Espy MG, Krishna MC, et al. Pharmacologic ascorbic acid concentrations selectively kill cancer cells: action as a pro-drug to deliver hydrogen peroxide to tissues. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005;102:13604-13609.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Paiva SAR, Russell RM. Beta-carotene and other carotenoids as antioxidants. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999;18:426-433.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Young AJ, Lowe GM. Antioxidant and prooxidant properties of carotenoids. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2001;385:20-27.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Bairati I, Meyer F, Gelinas M, et al. Randomized trial of anti-oxidant vitamins to prevent acute adverse effects of radiation therapy in head and neck cancer patients. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:5805-5813.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Bairati I, Meyer F, Gelinas M, et al. A randomized trial of anti-oxidant vitamins to prevent second primary cancers in head and neck cancer patients. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005;97:481-488.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Camphausen K, Citrin D, Krishna MC, Mitchell JB. Implications for tumor control during protection of normal tissues with antioxidants. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:5455-5457.[Free Full Text

  • Block K. Antioxidants in the news. Integr Cancer Ther. 2005;4:271-273.[Free Full Text

  • Creagan ET, Moertel CG, OFallon JR, et al. Failure of high-dose vitamin C (ascorbic acid) therapy to benefit patients with advanced cancer: a controlled trial. N Engl J Med. 1979;301:687-690.

  • Moertel CG, Fleming TR, Creagan ET, Rubin J, OConnell MJ, Ames MM. High-dose vitamin C versus placebo in the treatment of patients with advanced cancer who have had no prior chemotherapy: a randomized double-blind comparison. N Engl J Med. 1985;312:137-141.

  • Padayatty SJ, Sun H, Wang Y, et al. Vitamin C pharmacokinetics: implications for oral and intravenous use. Ann Intern Med. 2004;140:533-537.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Cancer tumors shown to consume large amounts of vitamin C [press release. September 15, 2000. Available at: www.mskcc.com.

  • Newbold HL. Vitamin C Against Cancer. New York, NY: Stein & Day; 1979.

  • Gonzalez MJ, Miranda-Massari JR, Mora EM, et al. Orthomolecular oncology review: ascorbic acid and cancer 25 years later. Integr Cancer Ther. 2005;4:32-44.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Jaakkola K, Lahteenmaki P, Laakso J, Harju E, Tykka H, Mahlberg K. Treatment with antioxidant and other nutrients in combination with chemotherapy and irradiation in patients with small-cell lung cancer. Anticancer Res. 1992;12:599-606.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Lesperance ML, Olivotto IA, Forde N, et al. Mega-dose vitamins and minerals in the treatment of non-metastatic breast cancer: an historical cohort study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2002;76:137-143.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Alam N, Shepherd FA, Winton T, et al. Compliance with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: an analysis of National Cancer Institute of Canada and intergroup trial JBR.10 and a review of the literature. Lung Cancer. 2005;47:385-394.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Hoffer A. Comments on "Mega-Dose Vitamins and Minerals in the Treatment of Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer: An Historical Cohort Study." Integr Cancer Ther. 2003;2:155-157.[Free Full Text

  • Conklin K. Coenzyme q10 for prevention of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. Integr Cancer Ther. 2005;4:110-130.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Bertazzoli C, Sala L, Ballerini L, Watanabe T, Folkers K. Effect of adriamycin on the activity of the succinate dehydrogenasecoenzyme Q10 reductase of the rabbit myocardium. Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol. 1976;15:797-800.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Cortes EP, Gupta M, Chou C, Amin VC, Folkers K. Adriamycin cardiotoxicity: early detection by systolic time interval and possible prevention by coenzyme Q10. Cancer Treat Rep. 1978;62:887-891.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Brash DE, Havre PA. New careers for antioxidants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002;99:13969-13971.[Free Full Text

  • Shin DM, Khuri FR, Murphy B, et al. Combined interferon-alfa, 13-cis-retinoic acid, and alpha-tocopherol in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: novel bioadjuvant phase II trial. J Clin Oncol. 2001;19:3010-3017.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Seixas-Silva JA Jr, Richards T, Khuri FR, et al. Phase 2 bioadjuvant study of interferon alfa-2a, isotretinoin, and vitamin E in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: long-term follow-up. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005;131:304-307.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Pace A, Savarese A, Picardo M, et al. Neuroprotective effect of vitamin E supplementation in patients treated with cisplatin chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:927-931.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Argyriou AA, Chroni E, Koutras A, et al. Vitamin E for prophylaxis against chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: a randomized controlled trial. Neurology. 2005;64:26-31.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Delanian S, Porcher R, Balla-Mekias S, Lefaix JL. Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of combined pentoxifylline and tocopherol for regression of superficial radiation-induced fibrosis. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:2545-2550.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Delanian S, Depondt J, Lefaix JL. Major healing of refractory mandible osteoradionecrosis after treatment combining pentoxifylline and tocopherol: a phase II trial. Head Neck. 2005;27:114-123.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Pathak AK, Bhutani M, Guleria R, et al. Chemotherapy alone vs. chemotherapy plus high dose multiple antioxidants in patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005;24:16-21.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Kennedy M, Brunuinga K, Mutlu EA, Losurdo J, Choudhary S, Keshavarian A. Successful and sustained treatment of chronic radiation proctitis with antioxidant vitamins E and C. Am J Gastroenterol. 2001;96:1080-1084.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Mahmoud F, Sarhill N, Mazurczak MA. The therapeutic application of melatonin in supportive care and palliative medicine. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2005;22:295-309.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Jang MH, Jung SB, Lee MH, et al. Melatonin attenuates amyloid beta 25-35-induced apoptosis in mouse microglial BV2 cells. Neurosci Lett. 2005;380:26-31.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Lissoni P, Chilelli M, Villa S, Cerizza L, Tancini G. Five years survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy and melatonin: a randomized trial. J Pineal Res. 2003;35:12-15.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Cerea G, Vaghi M, Ardizzoia A, et al. Biomodulation of cancer chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer: a randomized study of weekly low-dose irinotecan alone versus irinotecan plus the oncostatic pineal hormone melatonin in metastatic colorectal cancer patients progressing on 5-fluorouracil-containing combinations. Anticancer Res. 2003;23:1951-1954.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Lissoni P, Malugani F, Bukovec R, et al. Reduction of cisplatin-induced anemia by the pineal indole 5-methoxytryptamine in metastatic lung cancer patients. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2003;24:83-85.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Lissoni P, Bucovec R, Bonfanti A, et al. Thrombopoietic properties of 5-methoxytryptamine plus melatonin versus melatonin alone in the treatment of cancer-related thrombocytopenia. J Pineal Res. 2001;30:123-126.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Rybak LP, Husain K, Morris C, Whitworth C, Somani S. Effect of protective agents against cisplatin ototoxicity. Am J Otol. 2000;21:513-520.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Miyajima A, Nakashima J, Tachibana M, Nakamura K, Hayakawa M, Murai M. N-acetylcysteine modifies cisdichlorodiammineplatinum-induced effects in bladder cancer cells. Jpn J Cancer Res. 1999;90:565-570.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Bohm S, Oriana S, Spatti G, et al. Dose intensification of platinum compounds with glutathione protection as induction chemotherapy for advanced ovarian carcinoma. Oncology. 1999;57:115-120.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Smyth JF, Bowman A, Perren T, et al. Glutathione reduces the toxicity and improves quality of life of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer treated with cisplatin: results of a double-blind, randomised trial. Ann Oncol. 1997;8:569-573.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Cascinu S, Catalano V, Cordella L, et al. Neuroprotective effect of reduced glutathione on oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2002;20:3478-3483.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • National Cancer Institute. Overview of nutrition in cancer care. June 17, 2005. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/supportivecare/nutrition

  • Ladner C, Ehninger G, Gey KF, Clemens MR. Effect of etoposide (VP16-213) on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in a high-dose radiochemotherapy regimen. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 1989;25:210-212.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Clemens MR, Ladner C, Ehninger G, et al. Plasma vitamin E and beta-carotene concentrations during radiochemotherapy preceding bone marrow transplantation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51:216-219.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Colasanto JM, Prasad P, Nash MA, Decker RH, Wilson LD. Nutritional support of patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Oncology (Williston Park). 2005;19:371-379.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Lissoni P, Paolorossi F, Ardizzoia A, et al. A randomized study of chemotherapy with cisplatin plus etoposide versus chemoendocrine therapy with cisplatin, etoposide and the pineal hormone melatonin as a first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients in a poor clinical state. J Pineal Res. 1997;23:15-19.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Yu D, Duan Y, Bao Y, Wei C, An L. Isoflavonoids from Astragalus mongholicus protect PC12 cells from toxicity induced by L-glutamate. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005;98:89-94.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Taixiang W, Munro AJ, Guanjian L. Chinese medical herbs for chemotherapy side effects in colorectal cancer patients. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005:CD004540.

  • Kennedy DD, Ladas EJ, Rheingold SR, Blumberg J, Kelly KM. Antioxidant status decreases in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia during the first six months of chemotherapy treatment. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2005;44:378-385.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Kennedy DD, Tucker KL, Ladas ED, Rheingold SR, Blumberg J, Kelly KM. Low antioxidant vitamin intakes are associated with increases in adverse effects of chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79:1029-1036.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Yildirim I, Korkmaz A, Oter S, Ozcan A, Oztas E. Contribution of antioxidants to preventive effect of mesna in cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cystitis in rats. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2004;54:469-473.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Ozcan A, Korkmaz A, Oter S, Coskun O. Contribution of flavonoid antioxidants to the preventive effect of mesna in cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis in rats. Arch Toxicol. 2005;79:461-465.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Food and Drug Administration. Zinecard (dexrazoxane for injection). NDA 20-212/S-008. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2005/MAY_PI/Zinecard_PI.pdf.

  • Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. FDA oncology tools approval summary for dexrazoxane for reducing the incidence and severity of cardiomyopathy, October 31, 2002. Available at: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/onctools/summary.cfm?ID=256.

  • Hensley ML, Schuchter, LM, Lindley, C, et al. American Society of Clinical Oncology clinical practice guidelines for the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy protectants. J Clin Oncol. 1999;17:3333-3355.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Marzatico F, Porta C, Moroni M, et al. In vitro antioxidant properties of amifostine (WR-2721, Ethyol). Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2000;45:172-176.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Kemp G, Rose P, Lurain J, et al. Amifostine pretreatment for protection against cyclophosphamide-induced and cisplatin-induced toxicities: results of a randomized control trial in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. JClinOncol. 1996;14:2101-2112.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Food and Drug Administration, Oncology Division Advisory Committee. Fulfillment of the accelerated approval requirements for the non-small cell lung cancer indication: ethyol (Amifostine) reduces the cumulative renal toxicity associated with repeated administration of cisplatin in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/03/briefing/3936B1_05_MedImmune-Eythol.htm.

  • Schiller JH. High-dose cisplatin and vinblastine plus amifostine for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Semin Oncol. 1996;23:78-82.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Brizel DM, Wasserman TH, Henke M, et al. Phase III randomized trial of amifostine as a radioprotector in head and neck cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:3339-3345.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Lipshultz SE, Rifai N, Dalton VM, et al. The effect of dexrazoxane on myocardial injury in doxorubicin-treated children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:145-153.[Abstract/Free Full Text

  • Omenn GS, Goodman GE, Thornquist MD, et al. Risk factors for lung cancer and for intervention effects in CARET, the Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1996;88:1550-1559.[CrossRef[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve

  • Food and Drug Administration. Gefitinib (marketed as Iressa) information. 2005. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/gefitinib/default.htm.

  • Mosman Communications, Inc. Industry news: AstraZeneca posts US$21B sales. Medical Observer. May 15, 2005. Available at: http://www.medobserver.com/mar2005/indnews.html.

  • Lissoni P, Barni S, Brivio F, Rossini F, Fumagalli L, Tancini G. Treatment of cancer-related thrombocytopenia by low-dose subcutaneous interleukin-2 plus the pineal hormone melatonin: a biological phase II study. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 1995;9:52-54.[Medline [Order article via Infotrieve
Vitamins, minerals, natural compounds and supplements
CancerAcitve Logo
Subscribe (Free e-Newsletter)

Join Chris'
Newsletter

Join Chris' NewsletterSignup today for free and be the first to get notified on new updates.