Is There Evidence that Alpha Lipoic Acid Works against Cancer?

Antioxidants combined with chemotherapy may help treat cancer.

Generally speaking, experts say that it's too early to say for certain that alpha lipoic acid should be used to prevent and treat cancer. Nonetheless, there are many lab, animal, and clinical studies that demonstrate alpha lipoic acid's antitumor effects. ^(iv.4-5)

Some examples include:

Table IV.2: Alpha Lipoic Acid's Effects on Specific Cancers
CANCER TYPE	STUDY TYPE	KILLS CANCER CELLS?	INHIBITS TUMOR GROWTH AND PRO-GRESSION?	OVERALL ACTIVITY
BLADDER	Animal Alpha lipoic acid with hydroxycitrate, with or without chemotherapy.	✓	✓	Increased survival time. ^(iv.5) Reduced tumor volume. ^(iv.5) The combination of non-toxic alpha lipoic acid and hydroxycitrate reduced tumor size, but not as well as chemo did by itself. However, combining METABLOC™ with chemo worked better than the chemo did alone. ^(iv.5)
BLADDER	Animal Alpha lipoic acid with hydroxycitrate combined with capsaicin and octreotide.	✓	✓	Inhibited cancer cell energy. ^(iv.16) Decreased tumor growth. ^(iv.16) Reduced tumor size. ^(iv.16)
BREAST (invasive cell line)	Lab		✓	Blocked invasive metastatic activity by: ^(iv.17) Inhibited cancer cell movement and migration. Decreased metalloprotease enzymes used for cancer cells to invade and spread to other tissue.
BREAST (HER2+)	Lab and Animal 18.5 mg/kg daily via injection for 4 weeks.		✓	Reduced metabolism of glucose by cancer cells into cell energy. ^(iv.18) Inhibited cancer progression and growth in SkBr3 breast cancer tumors, a type that overexpresses Her2. ^(iv.18) However, there has been one animal study that suggests that alpha lipoic acid may promote breast cancer. ^(iv.19)
BREAST (advanced stage)	Clinical 300 mg/day with other vitamins and nutritional support.			Reduced levels of proteins that promote inflammation and cancer growth. ^(iv.6) Increased appetite and body weight. ^(iv.6) Improved quality of life. ^(iv.6)

Discover the amazing health benefits of turmeric

METABLOC™. ^(iv.5)

Cisplatin. ^(iv.5)

A natural extract from the plant Garcinia cambogia. ^(iv.5)

METABLOC™. ^(iv.5)

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