Nutrition and cancer: state of the art relationship of several nutrients to the development of cancer.

Abstract

Nutrition and cancer interact in a number of important ways and nutritional factors are increasingly recognized as relevant to both the prevention and treatment of cancer. The role of several nutrients in cancer development is considered briefly here. Deficiency of riboflavin (Vitamin B2) prolongs the survival of tumor-bearing animals, but may accelerate carcinogenesis caused by certain agents, as flavin cofactors are involved in drug and carcinogen metabolism. Deficiency of Vitamin A may enhance the development of tumors of epithelial origin, particularly lung. Evidence is accumulating that Vitamin A and/or its precursors, the B-carotenes, may possibly have an effect in chemoprevention of certain of these epithelial cancers both in animals and in man. The consumption of dietary fat among various nations is correlated closely with increased development of cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate, and possibly of other organs. Studies of migrant populations from Japan to the United States show changes in prevalence of stomach and colon cancer in the direction of the native United States population. Sources of nitrites are of concern because of their potential conversion to carcinogenic nitrosamines. Limitation of the delivery of nitrites may be difficult to accomplish so investigators are exploring the blockade of conversion of nitrites to nitrosamines. Nutrition should not be viewed as the sole means of cancer prevention and treatment but rather as a vital component of any treatment plan.

Riboflavin intake, MTRR genetic polymorphism (rs1532268) and gastric cancer risk in a Korean population: a case–control study

“…Moreover, riboflavin also affected the activity of catalase, superoxide dismutase enzymes, and some other antioxidant enzymes. Hence, insufficient consumption of riboflavin and the resulting reduction in enzyme activities would impair the antioxidant defence system of the body and lead to an imbalance in the oxidant-antioxidant system (53)(54)(55) . As an important cofactor in OCM, which is a critical network of several biological processes, such as DNA synthesis, methylation, and DNA repair, riboflavin deficiency in humans may have consequences for DNA single-strand breaks and anomalous DNA repair (17,56) , which contribute to the induction of carcinogenesis.…”