Author Interviews, Radiation Therapy, Supplements / 21.10.2015
Men’s Supplements Never Tested Despite Marketed as “Clinically Proven”
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Nicholas G. Zaorsky MD
Resident Physician, Radiation Oncology
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Medical Research: What was the motivation for your studies?
Dr. Zaorsky: Men often walk down grocery store aisles and see bottles of pills labeled “men’s health” or “prostate health.” We call these pills “men’s health supplements.” Our goal is to determine what effect (if any) these pills have on the cancer that men are most commonly diagnosed with – that is, prostate cancer.
Medical Research: What is the significance of these findings in simple terms? What are the implications for human health? What would you hope a general audience might take away from these findings?
Dr. Zaorsky: Men with prostate cancer commonly use these pills because of the high incidence of prostate cancer (about 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with the disease), the stress associated with the diagnosis, the desire to benefit from all potential treatments, and the limited regulation on marketing and sale of the supplements. Many men believe the supplements will help their cancer or (at worst) do nothing – so what’s the harm? We found that men’s health supplements have no effect on curing prostate cancer treated with radiation therapy (a common treatment option). Men who took these pills also had no difference in their side effects during or after treatment. Although we did not see a change in side effects, there have been thousands of cases in the US where supplements have harmed patients.
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