Nobel laureate Watson has claimed that antioxidants in late-stage cancers can actually promote, rather than prevent cancer progression.
Watson said the cure for many cancers will remain elusive unless scientists rethink the role of antioxidants, which include vitamin pills and food such as blueberries and broccoli.
Watson claims that antioxidants in late-stage cancers can promote cancer progression, a theory he counts “among my most important work since the double helix”.
Free radicals not only help keep diseased cells under control, they are also pivotal in making many cancer drugs, as well as radiotherapy, effective, he believes.
At the heart of his thesis are the group of molecules that scientists call reactive oxygen species. ROS play a role in apoptosis, which allows dysfunctional cells which pose a threat to the survival or organisms to kill themselves. Watson calls ROS ‘a positive force for life’.
Given the current methods of treatment and pace of research, Watson concluded that “Unless we can find ways of reducing antioxidant levels, late-stage cancer 10 years from now will be as incurable as it is today”.
Source: The Royal Society
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