Angela Onwuzoo
A Consultant Oncologist, Dr. Abia Nzelu, has urged smokers to get vitamins and other nutrients that they need through a healthy and balanced diet rather than rely on supplements.
Nzelu warned that taking certain dietary supplements increases the risk of lung cancer in people who smoke.
The oncologist disclosed this during an interview with Reportr Door HealthWise, noting that besides tobacco smoking being the principal risk factor for developing lung cancer, other risk factors predispose people to the killer disease.
She, however, said a small portion of lung cancers could also develop in people with no known risk factors for the disease.
Nzelu, who is the Executive Secretary of Mass Medical Mission, a non-profit organisation, said, “Smoking is by far the leading risk factor for lung cancer, accounting for about 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths.
“The risk of lung cancer is 15 to 30 times higher for smokers than for non-smokers. The risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time and number of cigarettes smoked.
“People who smoke and are exposed to other known risk factors such as radon and asbestos are at an even higher risk.
“Quitting smoking, even after smoking for many years, can significantly reduce the chances of developing lung cancer. However, not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer so other factors like genetics probably play a role as well as taking certain dietary supplements.
“Taking beta-carotene supplements increases the risk of lung cancer in people who smoke or who have been exposed to asbestos.
“Intake of high doses of vitamin B6 or B12 supplements individually also increases lung cancer risk among male smokers and non-smokers but the link was not found when taking the B supplements as part of multivitamins.”
Nzelu, however, said foods that are rich in beta-carotene are considered safe and appear to lower the risk of some types of cancer and possibly heart disease.
“Rather than rely on supplements for cancer protection, it is advisable to get vitamins and other nutrients through food,” she noted.
According to her, lung cancer is the number one cancer killer not just because it is common; but because it kills a disproportionately high percentage of the people it affects compared to other cancers.
“This is because lung cancer is more difficult to diagnose since the lungs can neither be seen nor felt, so it is usually diagnosed only after the onset of symptoms such as a cough or pain.
“Unfortunately, symptoms most often occur when cancer has become too advanced for a cure. The good news is that just like breast, colon, or many other common cancers, when lung cancers are detected in the early stages, they can be cured in over 80 per cent of cases.
“The incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer are currently four times higher in developed countries than in developing countries like Nigeria”, she said.
Continuing, the oncologist said lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer death globally.
She noted, “Globally, there were an estimated 2.2 million new cases of lung cancer in 2020. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, lung cancer has consistently been the most common cancer in the world until 2020, when the number of cases of breast cancer slightly surpassed the number of cases of lung cancer.
“Almost 1.8 million people died from lung cancer in 2020. This is almost double the number of cancer deaths caused by the second most common cause of cancer death, colorectal cancer.”
Nzelu affirmed that despite having a poor survival rate, lung cancer has one of the highest prevention ratios, assuring that it is one of the cancers that can easily be prevented.
“The most effective way to do this is by abstaining from smoking.
“Greater public health efforts to prevent tobacco smoking and aid in smoking cessation would have the most dramatic effect on lung cancer death rates,” she said.
In a 2017 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers said supplementation with high-dose vitamins B6 and B12 for longer duration may support more rapid cell growth and promote carcinogenesis in already mutated cells in smoking men.
“Our study found that consuming high-dose individual B6 and B12 vitamin supplements over 10 years was associated with increased lung cancer risk, especially in male smokers.
“Consistent with prior evidence of harm for other vitamin supplements on lung cancer risk in smokers,29-32 the associations we observed provide evidence that high-dose B6 and B12 supplements should not be taken for lung cancer prevention and, may increase risk of this disease in men,” the researchers said.
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