Carotenoids have been found to have anticarcinogenic properties
Women with higher circulating carotenoid levels are at a reduced risk of breast cancer according to recent study results. In previous experimental studies, carotenoids (the micronutrients found in fruits and vegetables) have been shown to inhibit tumor progression and reduce the spread of estrogen receptor–positive (ER+) and estrogen receptor–negative (ER–) breast cancers.
A. Heather Eliassen, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues, sought to determine the associations among specific carotenoids and breast cancer.
The researchers conducted a pooled analysis of 8 cohort studies that included over 80% of the world’s published prospective data on plasma or serum carotenoids and breast cancer. The analysis included 3055 case subjects and 3956 matched control subjects. Participant carotenoid levels were recalibrated to a common standard to account for laboratory differences as well as to examine the differences across populations.
Upon examination, there were statistically significantly inverse associations between circulating levels of individual and total carotenoids and breast cancer risk in over 3000 case subjects. This finding was even stronger in ER– breast cancers. “The inverse associations we observed among ER− tumors highlight carotenoids as one of the first modifiable risk factors for this poor-prognosis tumor type,” the authors write. Although some evidence has shown that carotenoids inhibit the growth of ER+ breast cancers as well, the authors think its effect may be concealed by hormone-related associations that suppress other risk factors. Yet, the researchers believe, “A diet high in carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables offers many health benefits, including a possible reduced risk of breast cancer.”
The study is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Source: NCI.