Could vitamin A reverse the progression of breast cancer cells?

A derivative of vitamin A, known as retinoic acid, found abundantly in sweet potato and carrots, helps turn pre-cancer cells back to normal healthy breast cells, a new study has found. The research could help explain why some clinical studies have been unable to see a benefit of vitamin A on cancer: the vitamin does not appear to change the course of full-blown cancer, only pre-cancerous cells, and only works at a very narrow dose.

Since cells undergo many changes before they become fully aggressive and metastatic, Sandra V Fernandez, Assistant Research Professor of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, and colleagues, used a model of breast cancer progression composed of four types of cells each one representing a different stage of breast cancer: normal, pre-cancerous, cancerous and a fully aggressive model. (Read: Your quick guide to get essential vitamins from food)

When the researchers exposed the four breast cell types to different concentrations of retinoic acid - one of the chemicals that the body converts vitamin A into - they noticed a strong change in the pre-cancerous cells. Not only did the pre-cancerous cells begin to look more like normal cells in terms of their shape, they also changed their genetic signature back to normal. The pre-cancerous cells had 443 genes that were either up or downregulated on their way to becoming cancerous. All of these genes returned to normal levels after treatment with retinoic acid. 'It looks like retinoic acid exerts effects on cancer cells in part via the modulation of the epigenome,' said Fernandez. (Read: 10 reasons to gorge on healthy carrots!)

'We were able to see this effect of retinoic acid because we were looking at four distinct stages of breast cancer. It will be interesting to see if these results can be applied to patients,' said Fernandez. The cells that were considered fully cancerous did not respond at all to retinoic acid, suggesting that there may be a small window of opportunity for retinoic acid to be helpful in preventing cancer progression. In addition, the researchers showed that only one concentration of retinoic acid (about one micro Molar) produced the anti-cancer effects. Lower concentrations gave no change, and higher concentrations produced a smaller. (Read: 5 reasons why vitamin A is really good for you!)

Vitamins and minerals provide our body with essential nutrients and keep us in good health. (Read how to get essential vitamins from foods). While we need to take all of them from different sources, it is important to keep a track of what we eat to monitor how much of each vitamin are we getting as each of them has a different function. Vitamin A which is responsible for healthy hair, strong bones and tissues, good vision and beautiful skin, is found in various foods. Vitamin A is also packed with beta-carotene and antioxidants read how they prevent cancer. These also help in getting rid of harmful free radicals. Here are some of its sources.

Sources of vitamin A

Green leafy vegetables: Veggies like spinach, broccoli, kale, etc are all great sources of vitamin A. A good way to consume them is by making a healthy broth of all of these together and drinking it in the morning. This can be your power drink of the day to energise you and also keep you healthy. It works for your skin and hair too. Read how to juice vegetables.

Carrots: You must have heard your mum asking you to eat carrots for your eyes. This is because even a single, small carrot has enough vitamin A to fulfil your daily intake. They are one of the best sources to get vitamin A. Eat them raw or add to a salad or make vegetable juice the choice is yours but eat at least one every day. Still not convinced? (Read: 5 vitamin A-rich foods you should include in your diet)

With inputs from PTI

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