New research shows that antioxidants may stimulate the growth of blood vessels in cancer tumors – Photo: DEPOSIT
To grow and metastasize, cancerous tumors require a constant supply of blood rich in oxygen and nutrients. And this requires the formation of new blood vessels. This is a process called angiogenesis.
When tissues become starved of oxygen, cancer cells in affected areas send chemical signals to attract endothelial cells to join blood vessels to form new blood vessels.
A new study conducted by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden examined the mechanisms of angiogenesis and found that antioxidants play an unexpected role in tumor growth and spread.
“We found that antioxidants trigger a mechanism that causes cancer tumors to form new blood vessels,” said Martin Burgo, lead author of the study. This is surprising because it was previously thought that antioxidants only protected blood vessels.”
And according to them, the new blood vessels nourish tumors and may help them grow and spread.
Generally, antioxidants remove free oxygen radicals from the body’s cells and prevent or reduce damage caused by oxidative stress. The imbalance between free oxygen radicals and antioxidants is known as oxidative stress or oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress damages DNA and regulates the progression of many different types of cancer, including breast, lung, liver, colon, prostate, ovarian, and brain cancer.
The researchers say their findings highlight the potential risks of taking antioxidant supplements when not needed. They emphasize that most people do not need to supplement with this substance.
Researchers have previously shown that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E accelerate the growth and spread of lung cancer.
(TagstoTranslate)Vitamin C(T)Metastasis(T)Cancer(T)TumorCancer(T)Antioxidants
