iStock/Thinkstock(SAN ANTONIO) — Can men’s health supplements really help prevent cancer?
Men’s health supplements with the common ingredient known as saw palmetto are often marketed as having “clinically proven” anti-cancer effects for prostate disease.
According to new research presented at the annual meeting for the American Society for Radiation Oncology in San Antonio, the supplements do not significantly prevent prostate cancer from traveling to different parts of the body or decrease the risk of death in these patients.
The researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center looked at a database of over 2000 prostate cancer patients, 10 percent of whom were taking supplements at the time of their radiation therapy.
Five years later, their results were no different from those who took no supplements.
The lead investigator hopes this new study will encourage patients to speak with their physicians regarding supplement use, stop the promotion of untested supplements, and eventually lead to legislation of the supplement industry.
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