Encouraging Results For Folic Acid As A Cancer Prevention Drug

[Guest guest]

.....not forgetting that we need B12 with it too, of course.

 

Jo

 

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology News

Article 14 Jun 2006 - 23:00pm (PDT)

 

 

Folic acid supplements may prevent cancer progression and promote

regression of disease, according to a new study. Published in the

July 15, 2006 issue of CANCER

(http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom), a peer-reviewed

journal of the American Cancer Society, the small study found that 31

of 43 patients with the precancerous laryngeal lesion called

leucoplakia demonstrated 50 percent or greater reduction in the

lesion size after six months of taking folate supplements. In 12 of

31 responders, there was no evidence of the original lesion. Folate

levels in the patients' blood also increased significantly from

baseline while homocysteine levels decreased significantly. This

study provides data to support the hypothesis that folate

insufficiency is a risk factor for cancer progression.

 

Folate deficiency is the most common vitamin deficiency in the United

States. Folate is a naturally occurring B vitamin (B-9) found

abundantly in fresh vegetables and fruits. Folic acid is its more

stable synthetic form found in dietary supplements and fortified

foods. At the biochemical level, folate is incorporated into

coenzymes that are essential in facilitating a variety of reactions

in nucleic acid and amino acids metabolism. Some of which are

critical to healthy life, such as DNA synthesis, DNA repair, and

converting homocysteine to methionine. The latter is particularly

important because excess homocysteine is linked to chronic health

problems, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

 

Animal and human studies have increasingly demonstrated associations

between folate deficiency, serum homocysteine elevations, and a

variety of cancers. Some studies have suggested folate

supplementation or at least a high folate dietary intake may protect

against some cancers. This body of evidence suggests folate to be an

effective chemopreventive drug. Other chemopreventive drugs are being

tested, and while the retinoids demonstrate the most promise, they

are highly toxic. Giovanni Almadori, M.D. of the Institute of

Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Policlinico A.

Gemelli in Rome, Italy and colleagues investigated the efficacy of

folic acid dietary supplementation to treat precancerous lesion and

prevent cancer.

 

The investigators enrolled 43 patients with untreated laryngeal

leucoplakia and treated them with folic acid (5mg three times a day)

and evaluated the progression of leucoplakia every 30 days for six

months.

 

Over six months of treatment, 12 patients (28 percent) had complete

resolution of their leucoplakia lesions; 19 patients (44 percent) had

reduction of 50 percent or more in the size of their lesions and 12

patients (28 percent) had no response. Mean folate levels increased

and mean homocysteine levels decreased significantly. There were no

moderate or severe adverse events reported.

 

Comparison to another promising chemopreventive drug regimen that

includes a retinoid, " our complete response rate is lower than the

one reported in a smaller population, " the authors write.

Nevertheless, folate " is characterized by a lower grade of toxicity, "

and there was no progression of disease.

 

These results suggest, according to the researchers, " folate

supplementation, alone or in combination with other chemopreventive

drugs, could effectively reduce the risk of progression in an already

genetically altered mucosa, especially in patients with

hypofolatemia. "

 

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Article: " Pilot Phase IIA Study for Evaluation of the Efficacy of

Folic Acid in the Treatment of Laryngeal Leucoplakia, " Giovanni

Almadori, Francesco Bussu, Pierluigi Navarra, Jacopo Galli, Gaetano

Paludetti, Bruno Giardina, Maurizio Maurizi, CANCER; Published

Online: June 2006 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.22003); Print Issue July

15, 2006.