A Speech to the 7th International Symposium for Biologically Closed Electric Circuits in Biomedicine

Marienlyst Conference Centre, Helsingør, Denmark, July 19-22, 2001

© 2001 Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

As you may know, in early 2000 I published a book on the topic of Antioxidants Against Cancer. In it, I proposed that dietary antioxidants could be used to enhance the effectiveness of conventional cancer treatments, while decreasing many of their side effects.

Since that time, an intense debate has erupted in scientific circles, as well as the media, over the advisability of such combinations. An increasing number of patients have turned to such complementary treatments. Many oncologists, meanwhile, have turned against antioxidants and warned their patients not to use them while undergoing conventional treatments. Claims have been made that such substances as vitamin C and vitamin E should be positively avoided. In fact, one researcher has suggested that cancer patients be entirely deprived of all dietary antioxidants in an attempt to help kill their tumors.

Obviously, this short talk cannot review the hundreds of scientific experiments that have been performed to test this hypothesis. However, I can give you a brief review of the scope of the controversy and provide a way for you to access the key articles and make up your own minds.

Labriola Vs. Livingston

In 1999, a debate flared up in the naturopathic field with two contrasting articles. First, Dan Labriola, ND, a well-known Northwest naturopath, published an article with oncologist R. Livingston, MD, that raised the possibility that antioxidants might interfere with chemotherapy (1). The concerns raised were mainly of a theoretical nature: since some anticancer agents generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidants probably interfered with their activity.

This negative paper was then countered by another Northwest naturopath, Davis Lamson, ND. He reviewed the data and came to the conclusion that in practice antioxidants do not interfere with the action of cytotoxic treatments (2). The article went over much the same ground that I had covered in my book and reached almost identical conclusions.