Don't take vitamin supplements randomly! Authoritative magazine: Supplementing these vitamins may accelerate tumor growth and metastasis

Vitamin C is an important water-soluble vitamin. Early studies have shown that vitamin C has many benefits for human health, including the immune system, antioxidant effects, cardiovascular health, etc. As an antioxidant, vitamin C is often added to dietary supplements to neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress damage to cells and tissues.

However, too much vitamin C is not necessarily better, and high doses may be harmful to your health.

Recently, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, Zhengzhou University in China and Peking University published a research paper titled "Antioxidants stimulate BACH1-dependent tumor angiogenesis" in the Journal of Clinical Investigation "JCI".
Studies have shown that supplementing with antioxidants such as vitamins C and E may increase the formation of blood vessels within lung cancer tumors or accelerate tumor growth and metastasis.

Previous studies by the researchers have shown that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E can stabilize the BACH1 protein, which can accelerate the growth and spread of lung cancer. This protein becomes activated when free radical levels in the body drop, which can happen when additional antioxidants are introduced into the diet, or when spontaneous mutations in tumor cells activate endogenous antioxidants.

In the study, the researchers analyzed mice with lung cancer and mice implanted with human cancer cells, adding vitamin C, vitamin E and N-acetylcysteine ​​to the mice's drinking water and food.

The study found that as the dose of supplements increased and the antioxidant levels in the mice increased, blood vessels formed faster within lung cancer tumors. Increased blood vessel growth may accelerate tumor growth and metastasis.

The results were true in both mice with lung cancer and mice implanted with human cancer cells.

Antioxidants stabilize BACH1 and promote angiogenesis gene expression in lung cancer tumors In addition, the researchers analyzed lung cancer organoids from humans and mice grown in the laboratory and exposed to high doses of vitamin C, vitamin E and N-acetylcysteine.
The researchers found that after exposure to high doses of antioxidants, free radical levels in the organs decreased, and when free radical levels decreased, the BACH1 protein was activated, causing the tumor to produce more new blood vessels and be highly sensitive to angiogenesis inhibitors.

However, researchers say that although angiogenesis inhibitors are widely used in cancer treatment, their effectiveness varies and they may have serious side effects such as blood clots.

Finally, the researchers also found that BACH1 is regulated in a similar manner to the protein hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1-α), whose expression is associated with angiogenesis-driven tumor growth and metastasis, suggesting that the two proteins act synergistically.

The researchers emphasize that most people do not need additional antioxidant supplements, and there is no need to worry about antioxidants in common foods. In fact, excessive antioxidant supplementation may be harmful to cancer patients and those at higher risk of cancer.

In summary, studies have shown that supplementing with antioxidants such as vitamins C and E may increase the formation of blood vessels within lung cancer tumors and accelerate tumor growth and metastasis.

Next, the researchers plan to analyze specifically how levels of oxygen and free radicals regulate the BACH1 protein and will conduct similar studies on other forms of cancer, such as breast cancer, kidney cancer, and skin cancer.

Paper link:
https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI169671