Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10
Studies suggest that CoQ10 may help the immune system work better. Partly because of this, CoQ10 is used as adjuvant therapy for cancer. Adjuvant therapy is treatment given following the primary treatment to lower the risk that the cancer will come back.
National Cancer Institute
Questions and Answers About Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
Source: The website of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov)
What is CoQ10
CoQ10 is a compound that is made naturally in the body. The body’s cells use CoQ10 to make energy needed for the cells to grow and stay healthy. The body also uses CoQ10 as an antioxidant. An antioxidant is a substance that protects cells from chemicals called free radicals. Free radicals can damage DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Genes, which are pieces of DNA, tell the cells how to work in the body and when to grow and divide. Damage to DNA has been linked to some kinds of cancer. By protecting cells against free radicals, antioxidants help protect the body against cancer.
What is the history of the discovery and use of CoQ10 as a complementary or alternative treatment for cancer?
Interest in CoQ10 as a possible treatment for cancer began in 1961, when it was found that some cancer patients had a lower than normal amount of it in their blood. Low blood levels of CoQ10 have been found in patients with myeloma, lymphoma, and cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, pancreas, colon, kidney, and head and neck.
Research about how CoQ10 plays a key role in the way cells make energy was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1978.
Studies suggest that CoQ10 may help the immune system work better. Partly because of this, CoQ10 is used as adjuvant therapy for cancer. Adjuvant therapy is treatment given following the primary treatment to lower the risk that the cancer will come back.
Studies of CoQ10 as an adjuvant therapy for breast cancer
Small studies have been done on the use of CoQ10 after standard treatment in patients with breast cancer:
- In a study of CoQ10 in 32 breast cancer patients, it was reported that some signs and symptoms of cancer went away in 6 patients. Details were given for only 3 of the 6 patients. The researchers also reported that all the patients in the study used less pain medicine, had improved quality of life, and did not lose weight during treatment.
- In another study led by the same researchers, 3 breast cancer patients were given high-dose CoQ10 and followed for 3 to 5 years. The study reported that one patient had complete remission of cancer that had spread to the liver, another had remission of cancer that had spread to the chest wall, and the third had no breast cancer found after surgery.
Anecdotal reports of CoQ10
Anecdotal reports are incomplete descriptions of the medical and treatment history of one or more patients. There have been anecdotal reports that CoQ10 has helped some cancer patients live longer, including patients with cancers of the pancreas, lung, colon, rectum, and prostate. The patients described in these reports, however, also received treatments other than CoQ10, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.
In a follow-up study, two patients who had breast cancer remaining after surgery were treated with CoQ10 for 3 to 4 months. It was reported that after treatment with CoQ10, the cancer was completely gone in both patients.
Have any side effects or risks been reported from CoQ10?
No serious side effects have been reported from the use of CoQ10.
This study of Eight new case histories of cancer patients plus two reported cases support the statement that therapy of cancer patients with CoQ10, which has no significant side effect, has allowed survival on an exploratory basis for periods of 5-15 years. These results now justify systematic protocols.
This pilot study evaluated the survival of patients with end-stage cancer who received supplements of coenzyme Q(10) and a mixture of other antioxidants (e.g. vitamin C, selenium, folic acid and beta-carotene). During a period of 9 years, 41 patients who had end-stage cancer were included. Forty patients were followed until death and one patient was lost to follow-up and presumed dead. Primary cancers were located in the breast, brain, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, oesophagus, stomach, colon, prostate, ovaries and skin. The median predicted survival time was calculated from Kaplan-Meier curves for each patient at inclusion. Median predicted survival was 12 months (range 3 – 29 months), whereas median actual survival was 17 months (1 – 120 months), which is > 40% longer than the median predicted survival. Mean actual survival was 28.8 months versus 11.9 months for mean predicted survival. Ten patients (24%) survived for less time than predicted, whereas 31 (76%) survived for longer. Treatments were very well tolerated with few adverse effects.
Updated 2024