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Study: Supplements Don't Cause Melanoma
Reported August 19, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Antioxidant supplements do not appear to
increase risk of melanoma, as previously suspected, according to a new
report.
Findings in a recent randomized trial of antioxidants for cancer prevention
seemed to suggest daily supplementation with nutritionally appropriate doses
of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, selenium and zinc increased the risk of
melanoma in women four-fold. Because an estimated 48 to 55 percent of U.S.
adults use vitamin or mineral supplements regularly, the potential for
harmful effects from these nutrients was alarming, the authors noted.
Maryam M. Asgari, M.D., M.P.H., of Kaiser Permanente Northern California,
Oakland, and colleagues examined the association between antioxidants and
melanoma among 69,671 women and men who were participating in the Vitamins
and Lifestyle (VITAL) study, which was designed to examine supplement use
and cancer risk. At the beginning of the study, conducted from 2000 to 2002,
participants completed a 24-page questionnaire about lifestyle, health
history, diet, supplement use and other cancer risk factors.
Intake of multivitamins and supplements during the previous 10 years,
including selenium and beta-carotene, was not associated with melanoma risk
in either women or men. The researchers also examined the risk of melanoma
associated with long-term use of supplemental beta-carotene and selenium at
doses comparable to the previous study and found no association.
"Consistent with the present results, case-control studies examining
serologic [blood] levels of beta carotene, vitamin E and selenium did not
find any association with subsequent risk of melanoma," the authors are
quoted as saying. "Moreover, the Nurses' Health Study reported no
association between intake of vitamins A, C and E and melanoma risk in
162,000 women during more than 1.6 million person-years of follow-up."
SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, August 2009 |
