CoQ10 – Cancer Treatment?

 

Of all the potential benefits of CoQ10, cancer treatment or preventative is among the most exciting. While studies have yet to yield conclusive proof in this area, they have provided some very encouraging results.

Interest in CoQ10 as a possible cancer treatment began in 1961, when it was discovered that some patients with myeloma, lymphoma, and cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, pancreas, colon, kidney, head, and neck had low levels of the coemzyme in their blood.

One of the reasons CoQ10 us used as an additional therapy for cancer is that it has been found to help the immune system work better. It is also thought the CoQ10 and similar compounds my prevent the growth of cancer cells, and in its capacity as an antioxidant CoQ10 may help prevent cancer from developing.

Most laboratory studies of CoQ10 have looked at the chemical structure of the compound and how it works in the body. Animal studies have found that CoQ10 does indeed boost the immune system, fights certain infections, and is effective in the treatment of certain types of cancer. In addition, CoQ10 has proven to help protect the hearts of laboratory animals who were receiving anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin, which can cause damage to the heart muscle. Perhaps most exciting of all, animal and laboratory studies indicate that CoQ10 may stop the growth of cancer cells.

Clinical trials (research studies with people) of CoQ10 are ongoing, but are returning encouraging results.

Small studies have shown that CoQ10 protects the hearts of cancer patients taking doxorubicin.

A study of 32 breast cancer patients indicated that some signs and symptoms of the cancer went away in six patients after taking a course of CoQ10. In addition, researchers reported that all the patients in the study used less pain medicine, had improved quality of life, and did not lose weight during treatment when supplemented with CoQ10.

In a follow-up study, two patients who had cancer remaining after surgery were treated with high doses of CoQ10 for three to four months. It was reported that after the high-dose treatment the cancer was completely gone in both patients.

The same researchers did a third study that gave three breast cancer patients high dosage coQ10 for three to five years. The study reported that two of the patients had a complete remission of cancer, which in both cases had spread to other organs.

There have been anecdotal reports that CoQ10 helped patients who were receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy for other cancers (including lung, colon, pancreas, rectum, and prostate) live longer.

The National Cancer Institute stresses that while these studies are encouraging, it is not entirely clear whether the benefits shown in the studies can be entirely attributed to CoQ10.

In the US CoQ10 is sold as a food supplement and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for cancer. FDA approval is not required before the sale of CoQ10 unless specific health claims about the supplement are made. In addition, the methods of formulation are not regulated, so different batches and brand of the supplement may differ from each other.

Note: Low levels of  Vitamin D have also been correlated with certain types of cancer. Read more about it here.