title: The antioxidant paradox: what are antioxidants and how should they be used in a therapeutic context for cancer.
abstract: So-called antioxidants have yet to make a clinical impact on the treatment of human cancer. The reasons for this failure are several. First, many agents that are called antioxidants are truly antioxidants at a given dose, but this dose may not have been given in clinical trials. Second, many agents are not antioxidants at all. Third, not all tumors use reactive oxygen as a signaling mechanism. Finally, reactive oxygen inhibition is often insufficient to kill or regress a tumor cell by itself, but requires sequential introduction of a therapeutic agent for maximal effect. We hope to provide a framework for the logical use of these agents in cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Bonner
authors.forename: Jack L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Arbiser
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants