Adding Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamins B2 and B3 to Tamoxifen protects breast cancer patients from recurrence and metastasis

CEA is the abbreviation for carcinoembryonic antigen. This is a protein normally produced in the fetus while developing, but the production of CEA stops before birth. CEA levels increase in patients with breast, colon, gastric, pancreatic, and lung cancer. CEA levels are usually measured to watch for a relapse of cancer after surgical removal. CA 15-3 is the abbreviation for carbohydrate antigen 15-3. CA 15-3 is used to monitor the effectiveness of treatment for invasive breast cancer and to watch for reoccurrence of the disease. Women with earlier stages of breast cancer rarely make CA 15-3. Both CEA and CA 15-3 are accepted tumor markers and decreasing concentrations help indicate the success of treatment.

In breast cancer patients it isn?t the original tumor, but its metastasis to distant sites that are the main cause of death. Circulating levels of the breast cancer tumor markers CEA and CA 15-3 are reliable indicators of impending relapse; increasing levels are associated with a likelihood of recurrence.

In the present study 84 breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to receive a daily supplement supplying 100mg of Coenzyme Q10, 10mg of Riboflavin (vitamin B2), and 50mg of Niacin (a form of vitamin B3) along with Tamoxifen 10mg twice a day. The other group received Tamoxifen plus placebo. Before the women were given treatment their tumor marker levels were elevated; treatment with Tamoxifen for 12 months significantly decreased these levels. Adding the supplement to Tamoxifen for 45 days or 90 days significantly improved the reduction with even better results than Tamoxifen alone. This study suggests that adding these supplements to Tamoxifen for the treatment of breast cancer patients reduces serum tumor marker levels and thereby reduces the risk of cancer recurrence and metastases. The study is published in the February 2007 issue of the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin.