Antioxidants can increase melanoma metastasis in mice

Antioxidants in the diet and supplements are widely used to protect against cancer, but clinical trials with antioxidants do not support this concept. Some trials show that antioxidants actually increase cancer risk and a study in mice showed that antioxidants accelerate the progression of primary lung tumors. However, little is known about the impact of antioxidant supplementation on the progression of other types of cancer, including malignant melanoma. We show that administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) increases lymph node metastases in an endogenous mouse model of malignant melanoma but has no impact on the number and size of primary tumors. Similarly, NAC and the soluble vitamin E analog Trolox…

• C
  Cancerfonden
• GG
  Göran Gustafssons Stiftelse för Naturvetenskaplig och Medicinsk Forskning
• IO
  IngaBritt och Arne Lundbergs Forskningsstiftelse
• KO
  Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse
• V
  Vetenskapsrådet
• SA
  Stiftelsen Assar Gabrielssons Fond