Doctors recommend caution when using this supplement due to the risk of cancer.

• Vitamins C and E stimulate the formation of new blood vessels in cancerous tumors
• But study leader Martin Bergö said “antioxidants in normal foods are not to be feared.”
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Doctors have warned against using vitamin C and E supplements if you are a cancer patient or someone at high risk of cancer.

A study on lung cancer cells found that they stimulate the formation of new blood vessels in the tumor, which could speed up the growth and spread of the cancer.

The researchers admitted that their findings are “surprising” given that the vitamins were thought to be powerful protectors against cancer.

Antioxidants, which are commonly found in fruits and vegetables, reduce inflammation linked to cancer.

But they also cause the formation of new blood vessels in the body, even in cancerous tumors.

Martin Bergö, a professor of molecular medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, stressed that “there is no need to fear antioxidants in normal foods” since fruits and vegetables do not contain enough, but said that people do not need extra amounts of them. they. .

Vitamin C is known for its protective powers against skin damage, while vitamin E is needed by the body to boost its immune system and fight bacteria and viruses.

“We found that antioxidants activate a mechanism that causes cancerous tumors to form new blood vessels, which is surprising as antioxidants were previously thought to have a protective effect,” said study leader Professor Bergö.

Antioxidants like vitamin C reduce the level of oxygen free radicals in the body, molecules produced when the body is exposed to things like radiation from the sun, which can play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.

The research group had previously shown that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E stimulate the growth of lung cancer by stabilizing a protein called BACH1.

BACH1 is activated when the amount of oxygen free radicals decreases, which can happen when additional antioxidants are added to the diet.

Now, researchers have shown that activation of BACH1 causes the formation of new blood vessels, even in cancerous tumors.

They studied small parts of lung cancer tumors taken from patients, as well as samples of mouse and human breast and kidney tumors.

They found that in tumors in which the BACH1 protein was activated by antioxidants, more new blood vessels formed.

The scientists hope their research could lead to better treatments to prevent the growth of cancerous tumors.

Ting Wang, a PhD student in Professor Bergö’s group at the Karolinska Institutet, said: “The next step is to examine in detail how oxygen and free radical levels can regulate the BACH1 protein, and we will continue to determine the clinical relevance of our results.

“We will also do similar studies in other forms of cancer, such as breast, kidney and skin cancer.”