Dr. John's Health Matters
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The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
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Posts tagged "melanoma"
Tuesday, Sep 1st, 2009 ↓Antioxidants Not Associated With Increased Melanoma Risk →
Sept 1. 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Antioxidant supplements do not appear to be associated with an increased risk of melanoma, according to a new report.
A recent randomized trial of antioxidants for cancer prevention found that daily supplementation with nutritionally appropriate doses of vitamins C and E, beta carotene, selenium and zinc appeared to increase the risk of melanoma in women four-fold, according to background information in the article. Because an estimated 48 percent to 55 percent of U.S. adults use vitamin or mineral supplements regularly, the potential harmful effects of these nutrients is alarming, the authors note.
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, designed to examine supplement use and cancer risk. At the beginning of the study, between 2000 and 2002, participants completed a 24-page questionnaire about lifestyle factors, 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 write. “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.”
For full article, see link above.
Tags: antioxidant supplement vitamin mineral C e beta carotene selenium zinc cancer risk nutrient melanoma lifestyle multivitamin
Antioxidants pose no cancer danger for skin →
Aug 18, 2009 (Nutraingredients.com)—
Results of the 10-year study with almost 70,000 people found that intakes of multivitamins and supplements, including selenium and beta-carotene, were not associated with melanoma risk.
Concerns over antioxidants and their potential to increase the risk of skin cancer were recently raised following publication of a randomized, primary prevention trial, called the Supplementation in Vitamins and Mineral Antioxidants (Suvimax) study.
Suvimax found that oral daily supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, selenium, and zinc, may increase a woman’s skin cancer risk.
New findings, just published in the August issue of Archives of Dermatology, challenge the Suvimax findings, however.
“These data suggest no association between self-reported multivitamin use and supplemental selenium and beta carotene use similar to doses used in the Suvimax study and melanoma risk,” wrote the researchers, led by Maryam Asgari from Kaiser Permanente Northern California.
“Strengths of this investigation include its prospective design, its large cohort size (about 450 cases), and the availability of baseline information on major potential confounding factors.
“The results of the Suvimax study should be interpreted with caution,” they add.
For full article, see link above.
Supplements of antioxidant vitamins and minerals are not associated with an increased risk of skin cancer, despite reports to the contrary, says a new study.
Tags: antioxidant cancer risk supplement multi-vitamin vitamin melanoma selenium beta-carotene
Tanning beds rated as top-tier cancer risk →
July 29, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Tanning beds are as deadly as mustard gas, arsenic, plutonium and other known carcinogens, international cancer experts have ruled.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer yesterday moved UV tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation to its highest cancer risk category, removing any ambiguity about their threat by labelling them “carcinogenic to humans.”
The move was based on a comprehensive review of studies, which found the risk of skin melanoma increases by 75 per cent when the use of tanning devices starts before the age of 30.
The report, by the agency’s Cancer Monograph Working Group, was published online yesterday in the medical journal Lancet Oncology. The agency is the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.
Until now, ultraviolet radiation and UV tanning equipment have been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The new classification places them alongside other known cancer-causing agents, including asbestos, benzene and the human papillomavirus.
Cancer experts and advocacy groups welcomed the elevated classification.
“This is important … it is another piece of evidence one can point to from a very conservative and eminent body,” said Dr. David Hogg, a cancer physician at Princess Margaret Hospital. “It doesn’t change my opinion, which is tanning beds are a dangerous carcinogen and should not be used at all.
For full article see link above.
Rubber-Manufacturing Chemical May Cause Cancer →
January 22, 2009 (medical news) — Workers regularly exposed to 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), a chemical commonly used in the manufacture of rubber products, could be at an elevated risk for multiple melanoma and cancers of the large intestine, bladder, and lung, according to research published online January 21 in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
For full medical article, see link above.
