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# Antioxidant use during breast cancer treatment cuts recurrence, death risk
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/vitamin_c_e_breast_cancer_recurrence_death_0924120851/
- Published: 2012-09-25T21:50:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:01:31.000Z
- Description: Among 2,264 women with early-stage breast cancer, frequent postdiagnosis use of vitamin C and vitamin E came with 27 and 29 percent lower recurrence risk, and vitamin E with 24 percent lower risk of death from any cause. Frequent combined carotenoid use went the other way.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

By David Liu, PHD

Tuesday Sept 24, 2012 ([foodconsumer.org](http://www.foodconsumer.org/)) -- Eating lots of antioxidant rich vegetables or taking antioxidant supplements such as vitamin C and vitamin E after diagnosis with breast cancer may help reduce risk of recurrence and death and supplementation of carotenoids may increase the risk, according to an epidemiological study in the journal Cancer.

Heather Greenlee ND, PhD of Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University in New York, New York and colleagues conducted the study and found women with newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer who frequently took antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E postdiagnosis were 27 and 29 percent less likely to have breast cancer recurrence, respectively, compared with those who did not take the antioxidants as frequently.

Some doctors advised against use of antioxidants during chemotherapy and radiation therapy because of concern that antioxidant supplements may neutralize the free-radicals generated by the treatments that kill cancer cells and lower the efficacy of treatment.

For the study, the researchers prospectively examined the associations between postdiagnosis use of antioxidants and breast cancer outcomes in 2264 women with early stage, primary breast cancer from 1997 to 2000 enrolled in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) cohort for an average two years. Data on antioxidant use was collected at baseline after diagnosis.

Eighty one percent of breast cancer patients were using antioxidant supplement use after diagnosis. Those who used antioxidants like vitamin C and E were at 27 and 29 percent reduced risk of recurrence, respectively, compared with those who did not use antioxidants. And vitamin E use was correlated with a 24 percent reduced risk of death from all causes.

On the other hand, frequent combined use of carotenoids was associated with 107 percent increased risk of death from breast cancer and 75 percent increased risk of death from all causes.

The researchers concluded "Frequent use of vitamin C and vitamin E in the period after BC diagnosis was associated with a decreased likelihood of recurrence, whereas frequent use of combination carotenoids was associated with increased mortality. The effects of antioxidant supplement use after diagnosis likely differ by type of antioxidant."

Supplementation of carotenoids have been associated with increased risk of developing other cancers as well in previous studies.

Antioxidants at least vitamin C have been known to minimize the damage induced by radiation. In the nuclear disaster that has recently occurred in Japan, nuclear site workers who orally took high doses of vitamin C before rushing to the highly radioactive plant and or received IV injection of vitamin C suffered minimal damage to DNA while those who did not use vitamin C experienced a great deal with DNA damage, according to a report.

Radiation therapy intended to treat breast cancer is highly toxic and damaging. It can cause secondary malignancies like leukemia in 3 to 7 years posttreatment and cause ischemic heart disease because of the artery damage induced by the radiation treatment applied on the chest.