Micronutrients in Oncological Intervention.

Nutritional supplements are widely used among patients with cancer who perceive them to be anticancer and antitoxicity agents. Depending on the type of malignancy and the gender 30%-90% of the cancer patients supplement their diets with antioxidant and immuno-stabilizing micronutrients, such as selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin D, often without the knowledge of the treating physician. From the oncological viewpoint, there are justifiable concerns that dietary supplements decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

[Micronutrients in oncology. Current data about vitamin D, selenium, L-carnitine and vitamin C].

Many patients receiving cancer treatment use micronutrient supplements, with the intention to complement their cancer treatment, or help them cope with the therapy- and disease-associated side-effects. Up to 90% of the cancer patients are adding antioxidants without the knowledge of the treating physician. There are many concerns that antioxidants might decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy, but increasing evidence suggests a benefit when antioxidants and other micronutrients, such as selenium, L-carnitine and vitamin D are added to conventional cytotoxic therapies.

L-Carnitine-supplementation in advanced pancreatic cancer (CARPAN)--a randomized multicentre trial.

Background: Cachexia, a >10% loss of body-weight, is one factor determining the poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Deficiency of L-Carnitine has been proposed to cause cancer cachexia.

Findings: We screened 152 and enrolled 72 patients suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer in a prospective, multi-centre, placebo-controlled, randomized and double-blinded trial to receive oral L-Carnitine (4 g) or placebo for 12 weeks.