Dietary Supplements Not Encouraged for Prostate Cancer Patients

Prostate-specific dietary supplements ought not be taken whilst having radiation therapy treatments as they have been proven to increase the radiosensitivity of normal prostate cell lines, ending up in normal tissue complications, so says a study in the March issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology.
Lots of prostate cancer patients opt to take nutritional supplements to enhance sexual potency and assist symptoms related with poor prostate health . Certain studies illustrate that around 50 per cent of prostate cancer patients use a herbal or dietary supplement and the majority do so without any discussion with their G.P.
Researchers at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., wished to find out whether three commonly used commercial prostate-specific dietary supplements altered the radiosensitivity of normal prostate .
The study authors discovered that the cell growth and radiosensitivity of the malignant tumor cells were unaffected by any of these supplements. However, two supplements inhibited normal prostate cell line growth rate, whilst a third supplement also increased the cellular radiosensitivity of some normal cell lines by inhibiting DNA repair.
“Cancer patients turn to supplements to aid in their treatments for a variety of reasons, but this study proves that what some patients believe is helping them may actually be harming them,” said Brian Marples, Ph.D, senior author of the report.
“It is very important for all patients to discuss any type of supplement they may be taking with their physician and especially important for prostate cancer patients receiving radiation therapy as this study shows that it may be negatively affecting the effectiveness of their treatments.”