Can CoQ10 benefit cancer patients?
The answer is yes, according to the National Cancer Institute, which has recognized the coenzyme’s potential as an adjuvant therapy for cancer.
Coenzyme Q10 is a natural substance produced by the body and found in the mitochondria, or power production center, of every cell. In addition to playing a key role in the production of energy at the cellular level, it is a potent antioxidant capable of neutralizing damaging free radicals (chemically unstable molecules created when cells interact with oxygen and other substances).
Research on CoQ10‘s potential as a cancer treatment has been ongoing since the early 1960s when it was first observed that patients with some types of cancer typically had low blood levels of the coenzyme.
Low levels of CoQ10 are associated with cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, pancreas, colon, kidney, and head/neck.
The National Cancer Institute says that because the coenzyme may improve immune system function, it has potential as an adjuvant therapy (treatment given following primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure) for cancer. In addition, its antioxidant properties may protect cells against free radical damage that can lead to cancer.
Both animal studies and clinical trials have indicated that increasing levels of the coenzyme stimulates the immune system, making the body more resistant to disease. In addition, animal studies show that CoQ10 helped protect the hearts of animals given anti-cancer drugs capable of damaging the heart and decreasing cardiac function.
Though relatively few clinical trials involving human cancer patients have been conducted, those that have been carried out produced very positive results:
A randomized clinical trial involving 20 cancer patients taking doxorubicin, an anti-cancer drug known to be capable of producing heart damage, confirmed the findings of the animal studies.
A Danish study of 32 breast cancer patients who were given supplements of the coenzyme along with conventional treatment reported that six of the patients experienced remission, while all participants took fewer painkillers, lost less weight, and experienced an improved quality of life. In follow-up studies, the Danish research team gave high-dose supplements of the coenzyme to the limited number of patients and observed them for periods ranging from four months to five years. All of the patients’ given high dosage supplements appeared to experience complete remission.
Though researchers agree that more studies are needed, anecdotal evidence confirms the findings with reports that increased amounts of the coenzyme increased the survival of patients with lung, colon, rectal, and pancreatic cancer.
Though no serious side effects of CoQ10 have been observed, the NCI stresses that it’s important to check with health care providers to confirm that the supplement can be safely used with other drugs.
