Open AccessVitamin A in prevention and treatment of cancer
Author(s) -
Rezânio Martins Carvalho,
Muhammad Saiful Islam,
Ana Maria Oliveira da Mata,
Reyca e Silva,
Márcia Fernanda Correia Jardim Paz,
Marcus Vinícius Oliveira Barros de Alencar,
Hercília Maria Lins Rolim,
Maria das Graças Freire de Medeiros,
J. M. C. Sousa,
Ana Amélia de Carvalho MeloCavalcante
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2309-1622
DOI - 10.14419/ijm.v5i2.7947
Subject(s) - cancer , medicine , oxidative stress , cancer prevention , vitamin c , antioxidant , cancer treatment , vitamin , vitamin e , cancer cell , oncology , pharmacology , biochemistry , biology
Dietary components not only act as chemo preventive agents but also risk factors in the onset of cancer, which stimulating nutritional bal-ance in cancer or non-cancer populations. The supplementation of antioxidant compounds, such as vitamin A (Vit A) and few of its deriva-tives has been reported to alleviate the oxidative stress in cancer patients. This review focuses on sketching a current scenario on the Vit A role in cancer prevention and therapy. Therefore, we searched for published article on PubMed and Science Direct between 2014 and 2015. The search yielded 75 articles related to Vit A-mediated anti-oxidative or pro-oxidative effects in cancer patients. A low dose-mediated anti-cancer effect was observed with Vit A in some cancers. The clinical studies showed discrepancies between the low and high doses of Vit A in cancer. In conclusion, precautions are needed in taking Vit A and its derivatives, especially in cancer.