Multivitamins may diminish the risk of relapse and death in women with breast cancer. Researchers with Columbia University's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center found that women with breast cancer who took multivitamins with minerals were 29% less likely to have a recurrence of the disease and 22% less likely to die from breast cancer than their counterparts who did not take multivitamins.
Multivitamins appears to especially benefit women undergoing radiation treatment," said researcher Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, according to MedicineNet.com in news released December 19, 2010.
The findings indicate a correlation, but not necessarily a causation. Edith Perez, MD, director of the breast cancer program at the Mayo Clinic, points out that certain other factors could have had an influence on the data; for example, women who exercise and maintain a healthy diet are more likely to take vitamins.
Researchers also found that women who took multivitamins with minerals prior to diagnosis and continued taking them at least three times a year afterward were 31% less likely to have a recurrence and 27% less likely to die from the disease.
Greenley says a followup study called Pathway will monitor the effects of multivitamins with minerals on 4,500 women with breast cancer.
* This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The FDA has not approved or evaluated these statements, nor does it relate to any specific products.
