During the past few years there has been an escalation of interest in the role of antioxidants in health and disease. There is increasing evidence that oxidative processes contribute to the promotion stage of carcinogenesis, although the mechanisms for this are not well understood. Currently available data are compatible with the notion that these antioxidant vitamins act as chemopreventives against some important cancers, e.g. carotenoids for lung cancer, ascorbic acid for salivary gland cancer, tocopherols for head and neck cancers etc. Thus, a greater consumption of fruits and vegetables should be encouraged as they are the natural sources of these chemopreventive antioxidants along with other protective factors packaged by nature. Also, an evidence based approach for making recommendations about antioxidant usage and efficacy in routine clinical practice seems to be the need of the hour.
