"Natural" supplements caused cancer in 2 men: study
研究發現:“天然”補品可引起腫瘤
Two men seeking to boost sexual performance and grow bigger muscles instead ended up with advanced prostate cancer after taking "herbal" supplements, U.S. doctors reported.
據美國醫生報道,兩名男性為了提高性能力、增加肌肉而服用草藥補品,結果卻患上了晚期前列腺癌。
They said many supplements marketed as "safe" and "natural" could contain unknown and potentially dangerous ingredients, and noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has little authority to regulate them.
他們說許多打着“安全”和“天然”旗號的補品里可能含有一些未知的、具有危險性的成份,並且解釋說美國食品藥品監督管理局對此類產品無權管理。
"Physicians need to ask their patients not only about the pre????ion drugs they may be taking, but -- perhaps even more importantly -- about the over-the-counter drugs and supplements, which may have a profound impact on certain health conditions," Dr. Claus Roehrborn, chairman of urology at the University of Texas Southwestern medical school, said in a statement.
“醫生們應當不僅只詢問病人他們在服用什麼處方藥,還應該詢問他們服用非處方藥和補品的情況,而後者可能有着更重要的意義,因為它們可對人體健康產生巨大的影響。” Claus Roehrborn博士在一份聲明中說,他是得克薩斯大學西南醫學院的泌尿外科主任。
Roehrborn's team became concerned about what they call herbal/hormonal dietary supplements, or HHDSs, after two men developed aggressive and incurable prostate cancer within months of taking the same supplement.
Roehrborn團隊是在兩名男性因服用同樣的補品數月而罹患侵襲性難治性前列腺癌後而對這一問題開始關注的,他們稱之為草藥/激素食補,簡稱HHDSs。
They analyzed the product, which they did not name for legal reasons, and found it contained two hormones -- testosterone and estradiol. When they tested it on tumor cells in the lab, they found it fueled the growth of prostate cancer cells more potently than testosterone alone, they reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
他們對這一產品(出於法律方面的考慮,沒有指出產品名稱)進行了分析化驗,結果發現產品中含有兩種激素—睾酮和雌二醇。當在實驗室中用該產品在腫瘤細胞中進行試驗時,他們發現與單獨使用睾酮相比,該產品能更有力的促進前列腺癌細胞的生長。他們在《臨床腫瘤研究》雜誌上報道了這一研究。
"We filed an adverse event report with the FDA who issued a warning letter. The manufacturer responded by removing this HHDS product from the market," the researchers wrote.
“我們向FDA進行了不良反應報告,隨後FDA發出了一封警示信。而生產商隨後做出反應,將這一HHDS產品撤出市場。”研究者們在文章中寫道。
"Individuals use HHDS for self-improvement, failure or distrust of conventional medicine, and because they believe that, these natural products are safe and drug-free," they wrote.
“使用HHDS的人往往是為了增強體質、不信任或使用常規藥物無效,因為他們認為這些天然產品是安全的,且不含有任何藥品成份。”他們寫道。
The researchers searched Web sites promoting such products and found they promised "'fountain of youth,' maintenance of a 'youthful' heart, relief of stress, and improvements in mood disturbances, stamina, energy, strength and virility."
研究者們搜索了此類產品的宣傳網站,發現它們往往宣稱可以讓人“煥發青春”、保持一顆年輕的心、緩解壓力、舒緩心情、增加精力並加強男子氣概。
The patients, a 67-year-old white man and a 51-year-old black man, have both survived but have extensive cancer that has spread throughout their bodies.
兩位病人,一位67歲的白人男性和一位51歲的黑人男性,目前都尚在人間,但卻患上了晚期腫瘤並已擴散到全身。
"Unlike pre????ion and over-the-counter drugs, the law does not require nutritional supplements to undergo pre-market approval for safety and efficacy," the researchers wrote.
‘與處方及非處方藥不同,法律並沒有要求營養補品在上市前通過安全和有效性檢驗。“研究者們寫道。
"The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994 (DSHEA) allows HHDS manufacturers to assume the sole responsibility for ensuring the effectiveness and safety of their products. Thus, the current Food Drug Administration regulatory system provides little oversight or assurance that HHDS will have predictable pharmacological effects or even that product labels provide accurate information to consumers."
“1994年頒布的《食補衛生與教育法令》(DSHEA)允許HHDS生產商獨自對他們產品的安全性和有效性進行檢驗。因而目前的食品藥品監管體系就不能保證HHDS能有預期的藥效,甚至不能保證這些產品標籤里包含的信息對消費者來說是真實可靠的。”