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# Antioxidant vitamins help children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/acute_lymphoblastic_leukemia_1109160452/
- Published: 2016-11-10T19:52:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:31:10.000Z
- Description: A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who took in more antioxidant vitamins had better outcomes: more vitamin C was linked to fewer therapy delays and less toxicity, more vitamin E to fewer infections.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

It couldn't be emphasized enough that cancer patients should eat a healthy diet and take nutritional supplements if necessary during the cancer treatment.

A study in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found higher intakes of antioxidant vitamins or their precursors in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at six months of treatment were associated with better outcomes.

Higher vitamin C intake at the end of the treatment was associated with fewer therapy delays, less toxicity and shorter stay in the hospital. And higher vitamin E intake at three months of treatment was associated with fewer incident infections. Greater beta-carotene intake at six months were linked to decreased risk of toxicity induced by chemotherapy.

The study suggests that children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia should have adequate intakes of nutrients like antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A.

Chemotherapy often increases oxidative stress and produces high levels of reactive oxygen species, which are toxic. Some oncologists would advise that antioxidants should not be taken during the course of treatment because they may think that antioxidants may interfere with chemotherapy. (David Liu)

[*Deborah D Kennedy, Katherine L Tucker, Elena D Ladas, Susan R Rheingold, Jeffrey Blumberg, and Kara M Kelly, Low antioxidant vitamin intakes are associated with increases in adverse effects of chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Am J Clin Nutr June 2004, vol. 79 no. 6 1029-1036*](http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/6/1029.short?ref=foodconsumer.org)

Another study published in 2016 in Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology also looked at the effect of nutritional status on the outcomes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children.

The study found that children with this cancer who were malnourished at the time of diagnosis were more likely to have a poor outcome, that is, death or relapse and those whose development were stunted at diagnosis were twice more likely to die than those who were not malnutritional.

The study involved 103 pediatric patients diagnosed with ALL between April 2002 and May 2010 in Lebanon.

[*Yazbeck, Nadine MD; Samia, Loma MD; Saab, Raya MD; Abboud, Miguel R. MD; Solh, Hassan MD; Muwakkit, Samar MD, Effect of Malnutrition at Diagnosis on Clinical Outcomes of Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, March 2016 - Volume 38 - Issue 2 - p 107–110*](http://journals.lww.com/jpho-online/Abstract/2016/03000/Effect%5Fof%5FMalnutrition%5Fat%5FDiagnosis%5Fon%5FClinical.4.aspx?ref=foodconsumer.org)