Supplements may hurt prostate treatment

ROYAL OAK, Mich., March 10 (UPI) -- Some dietary supplements may harm rather than help prostate cancer patients, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., looked at three widely used commercial prostate-specific dietary supplements taken by many prostate cancer patients to improve or increase sexual potency or alleviate symptoms associated with poor prostate health.

The study, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, finds cell growth and sensitivity to radiation of the malignant tumor cells were not affected by any of the supplements.

However, two supplements inhibited the growth rate of normal prostate cells and the third also increased the cellular sensitivity to radiation of some normal cell lines by inhibiting DNA repair.

Study senior author Brian Marples said the study shows what some patients believe is helping them may actually be harming them.

"It is very important for all patients to discuss any type of supplement they may be taking with their physician and especially important for prostate cancer patients receiving radiation therapy as this study shows that it may be negatively affecting the effectiveness of their treatments," Marples says in a statement.