title: Cancer, Oxidative Stress, and Metastasis.
abstract: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules that arise from a number of cellular sources, including oxidative metabolism in mitochondria. At low levels they can be advantageous to cells, activating signaling pathways that promote proliferation or survival. At higher levels, ROS can damage or kill cells by oxidizing proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. It was hypothesized that antioxidants might benefit high-risk patients by reducing the rate of ROS-induced mutations and delaying cancer initiation. However, dietary supplementation with antioxidants has generally proven ineffective or detrimental in clinical trials. High ROS levels limit cancer cell survival during certain windows of cancer initiation and progression. During these periods, dietary supplementation with antioxidants may promote cancer cell survival and cancer progression. This raises the possibility that rather than treating cancer patients with antioxidants, they should be treated with pro-oxidants that exacerbate oxidative stress or block metabolic adaptations that confer oxidative stress resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390.|Department of Pediatrics, Children's Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390.
authors.forename: Jennifer G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Piskounova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390.|Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390.
authors.forename: Sean J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species