Dietary Vitamin A Intake and Circulating Vitamin A Concentrations and the Risk of Three Common Cancers in Women: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background. According to relevant clinical research, dietary and circulating antioxidants vitamin A are connected with the risk of breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer in women. However, there was inconsistency between the findings. We completed this meta-analysis at the right moment to address this contradiction of the problem. Methods. Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed databases were searched using the proposed search strategy and filtered using the inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as the NOS quality score. As of May 2022, low intake or low concentration was used as a control, and odds ratio (OR) or relative risk (RR) and ninety-five percent confidence intervals (95% CI) were extracted for high intake. Stata 12.0 was used to process the data. Results. Our meta-analysis included a total of 49 studies, 29 on breast cancer, 10 on ovarian cancer, and 10 on cervical cancer. There were 38 case-control studies included, with 25,363 cases and 42,281 controls; there were 11 cohort studies included, 1,334,176 individuals were followed up, and finally 9496 obtained cancer. The pooled OR value results were as follows: diet or supplements ( OR = 0.83 , 95% CI 0.76-0.90, I 2 = 56.1 % ) and serum or plasma ( OR = 0.96 , 95% CI 0.86-1.09, I 2 = 29.5 % ). Subgroup analyses were performed according to cancer type, diet or supplements, serum or plasma, study type, and geographic regions. Conclusions. In North American and Asian populations, high dietary consumption of vitamin A or supplements decreases the incidence of three cancers in women, with breast and ovarian cancers being more significant. However, high circulating vitamin A concentrations were not significantly connected with the risk of the three malignancies.

Vitamin a deficiency causes apoptosis in the mammary gland of rats

“…Vitamin A deficiency can cause diseases such as decreased immunity, night blindness, dry skin, diarrhea, and certain cancers, including breast cancer 37 . A recent meta-analysis has shown that in North American and Asian women populations, high dietary consumption of vitamin A or supplements decreases the incidence of breast and ovarian cancers 38 .…”

Micronutrient Status and Breast Cancer: A Narrative Review

“…Overall, vitamin A's role in breast cancer is complex, with mixed findings. High dietary vitamin A consumption correlates with decreased breast cancer incidence in North American and Asian populations [31]. The dysregulation of the retinoid signaling pathway is linked to tumor development.…”

Vitamins in Gynecologic Malignancies

“…Strategies for preventing the development of gynecologic cancers include regular gynecologic check-ups, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination or physical activity and a healthy diet [2,3]. In the past two decades, many publications have focused attention on the role of micronutrients in the prevention of gynecologic malignancies [4][5][6]. Extensive meta-analyses have shown that daily supplementation with vitamin A and D3 can reduce the incidence of ovarian cancer [7][8][9], as well as mortality from malignant cancer by up to 12% [9].…”