Excessive Antioxidant Use May Facilitate the Spread of Lung Cancer

Studies published in 2014 had shown that excessive antioxidant use could accelerate cancer growth. In June 2019, two studies published in Cell , one of the scientific world's most important journals, discovered that lung cancer cells can easily metastasize by using antioxidants. Lung cancer cells do this by activating a protein called BACH1 and increasing their uptake of sugar. This research may enable the development of new treatments for lung cancer.

Cancer cells are exposed to free oxygen radicals because of their distinctive metabolism — consuming a great deal and producing a great deal of waste. Cancer cells use certain strategies to reduce oxidative stress caused by free oxygen radicals: they obtain vitamins A, C and E from nutrients or synthesize them. Mutations in NRF2 and KEAP1 occur in one out of every 3 lung cancers. These mutations enable cancer cells to produce their own antioxidants.

The two published studies discovered which mechanism cancer cells use to reduce this oxidative stress.

In cancer cells, BACH1 was found to become activated and accumulate. The BACH1 protein both increases energy production from glucose in cancer cells and plays a role in transporting glucose from the blood into cancer cells. High glucose uptake facilitates the spread of cancer cells,

What Does This Study Mean for Us?

• Antioxidants taken as dietary supplements, such as vitamin E, were found to accelerate tumor growth and facilitate metastasis. When the first studies were published in 2014, they attracted considerable attention in the media and society. This study explains how antioxidants help cancer, together with the biological basis.
• This research also explains how the Warburg effectbecomes activated in cancer. The Warburg effect is the conversion of sugar into energy and lactic acid by cancer cells in the presence of oxygen. It is one of the 10 hallmarks of cancer .
• Lung cancer cells were observed to divide and spread rapidly by using antioxidants.
• Treatment strategies could be developed, such as preventing BACH1 protein production, blocking antioxidants or targeting enzymes in cancer cell glucose metabolism.
• It is essential to emphasize that this research is still at the laboratory stage.
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