ROCHESTER, Minn., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A U.S. review of studies finds taking antioxidant supplements does not reduce the risk of cancer.
The study, published in the Mayo Clinical Proceedings, found vitamin E appeared to have no beneficial or harmful effects.
The Mayo Clinic researchers also found selenium supplementation was found to lower the risk of cancer in men, but not in women, but the number of trials were few and further research is required.
"Systematic reviews can provide reliable summaries of the research, and help understand why different studies give different results," senior study author Dr. Victor Montorie said in a statement.
The researchers reviewed randomized trials from l968 to 2005 and identified 12 clinical trials with a total eligible population of 104,196. The researchers found beta carotene supplementation was linked to an increased risk of smoking-related cancers as well as cancer mortality.
Lead study author Dr. Aditya Bardia concluded antioxidants do not lower the risk of cancer, beta carotene might actually increase cancer risk among smokers and selenium might have beneficial properties but more evidence is needed.
