Tier 1 — highest

EUROSCAN, a randomized trial of vitamin A and N-acetylcysteine in patients with head and neck cancer or lung cancer. For the EUropean Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Head and Neck and Lung Cancer Cooperative Groups

N van Zandwijk, O Dalesio, U Pastorino, N de Vries, H van Tinteren

J Natl Cancer Inst 2000 92(12):977-986

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 10861309
DOI: 10.1093/jnci/92.12.977
Funding: Funding disclosure was not located in the indexed record reviewed; consult the source publication for the full funding statement.
Competing interests: Competing-interest disclosure was not located in the indexed record reviewed; consult the source publication for the full declaration.

Design	Large randomized chemoprevention trial
Model	Human
Sample	2,592 patients with prior head-and-neck or lung cancer
Intervention	NAC 600 mg/day and/or vitamin A in a factorial prevention design
Duration	Approximately 2 years of intervention with follow-up
Endpoints	Second primary tumors; Recurrence; Event-free survival; Overall survival

Critical long-term human trial testing NAC as a cancer-prevention strategy in high-risk cancer survivors.

NAC did not improve overall or event-free survival or meaningfully prevent second primary tumors in the broad study population.

Cancer-survivor population and factorial design; does not answer effects in healthy adults but argues against simplistic anticancer claims.

Editorial review

Last verified 03 October 2026