Mega-dose vitamins and minerals in the treatment of non-metastatic XXXX : an historical cohort study.

@entity1 @entity172 @entity2066 @entity0 @entity620 @entity4259 @entity5 @entity219 @entity1670 @entity3 @entity2221 @entity7447
BACKGROUND: Alternative therapies such as mega-dose vitamins and minerals are commonly used by @entity1 with @entity0 , but their effect on recurrence and survival have rarely been evaluated. METHODS: Survival and recurrence outcomes for 90 @entity1 with unilateral non-metastatic @entity0 diagnosed between 1989 and 1998, and who had been prescribed mega-doses of @entity2066 , @entity620 , @entity1670 , @entity4259 , @entity7447 , and @entity219 in addition to standard therapies were compared with matched controls. The 90 treated @entity1 were prescribed combinations from three to six of the vitamins and minerals listed above. The controls were matched (2:1) to the vitamin/mineral @entity1 for age at diagnosis, presence of axillary lymph node @entity3 , @entity5 stage, grade, @entity172 receptor status, year of diagnosis, and prescription of systemic therapy. All subjects were @entity1 of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver Island Centre. FINDINGS: Median follow-up of surviving @entity1 was 68 months (minimum 20 months, 133 months maximum). The vitamin/mineral @entity1 and controls were well matched. Two endpoints were considered. @entity0 -specific survival (p = 0.19) and disease-free survival (p = 0.08) times for the vitamin/mineral treated group were shorter, after adjusting for diagnostic variables using a Cox proportional hazards model. The hazard ratios for the @entity2221 /mineral treated group versus the control group were estimated at 1.75 (95% CI = 0.83-2.69) for disease-specific survival and 1.55 (95% CI = 0.94-2.54) for disease-free survival. Overall survival was similar for the two groups (log-rank test, p = 0.36). INTERPRETATION: @entity0 -specific survival and disease-free survival times were not improved for the vitamin/mineral treated group over those for the controls.
