Phytochemical Carotenoids Ameliorates the Risk of Breast Cancer, According to Study

By Kyle J. Norton

Breast cancer or malignant breast neoplasm is a medical condition caused by cell growth irregularly in the tissue of the breast.

Most cases of breast cancer start in the cell on the surface of the inner lining tissues of the breast either from the inner lining of milk ducts (Ductal carcinoma) or the lobules (Lobular carcinoma) that supply the ducts with milk. 

 In 2010, over 250,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women in the U.S. alone and the risk of getting invasive breast cancer during the lifetime of women is 1/8.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting to over 24% of all cancers diagnosed every year.

The 5 years survival rate of breast cancer in the localized stage is about 100%.

 Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), is aggressive cancer occurred in women of any age that grows in sheets instead of lumps and invades nearby skin, leading to the whole breast which suddenly goes red and feels hot, resembling an inflammation

The rare condition was found in only 1-6% of all breast cancer cases in the USA.  Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) should be treated very promptly. 

Most common symptoms of IBC are 

* Rapid swelling (a cup size in a few days) sometimes

*  Skin changes (pink, red, or dark-colored areas)

* Nipple retraction

* Persistent itching, skin hot to touch

* Initially resembles mastitis

* Breast skin ulcers (later stage of IBC)

How danger is IBC? Dr. Ana M. Gonzalez-Angulo, the lead scientist wrote, " (According to the results of the study), the median follow-up was 5.8 years (range, 0.3–23.8 years). There were 238 recurrences and 236 deaths (compared to 398 patients with IBC were treated between 1974 and 2005). The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) duration was 2.3 years and the median overall survival (OS) time was 4.2 years".

Carotenoids is a class of mainly yellow, orange, or red fat-soluble pigments, including lycopene and carotene, found abundantly in ripe tomato, pumpkins, carrots, corn, and daffodils.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of cancer, researchers examined the protective role of carotenoids against the onset of breast cancer.

The study included a total of 521 women with breast cancer and age-matched controls (5-year interval) selected from three teaching hospitals in Guangzhou, China.

According to the chemical analysis, phytochemicals α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin are found in serum carotenoids,

* Serum α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, lutein/zeaxanthin are associated inversely with the risk of breast cancer.

* The relative odds ratio for the highest quartile of serum concentration compared with the lowest quartile were 0·44.

* More precisely, the OR for α-carotene was.44, β-carotene was 0·27 and lycopene was .41 and lutein/zeaxanthin was 0·26. 

* β-cryptoxanthin, one of the major compounds was not significant association with the risk for breast cancer.

Based on the stratified analysis, researchers found that serum α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin were also inversely associated with breast cancer risk among premenopausal women and among all subtypes of ER or PR status.

The results strongly suggested that all chemical compounds in the class of carotenoids work synergistically to decrease the risk of cancer among women.

Dr. Yan B, the lead scientist, after taking other factors into account said, "The results suggest a protective role of α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, and lutein/zeaxanthin, but not β-cryptoxanthin, in breast cancer risk.".

Taken altogether, carotenoids may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of carotenoids in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Specific serum carotenoids are inversely associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women: a case-control study by Yan B1, Lu MS1, Wang L1, Mo XF2, Luo WP1, Du YF1, Zhang CX. (PubMed)
(2) Plasma carotenoids, vitamin C, tocopherols, and retinol and the risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort by Bakker MF1, Peeters PH2, Klaasen VM3, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB4, Jansen EH5, Ros MM5, Travier N6, Olsen A7, Tjønneland A7, Overvad K8, Rinaldi S9, Romieu I9, Brennan P9, Boutron-Ruault MC10, Perquier F10, Cadeau C10, Boeing H11, Aleksandrova K11, Kaaks R12, Kühn T12, Trichopoulou A13, Lagiou P14, Trichopoulos D15, Vineis P16, Krogh V17, Panico S18, Masala G19, Tumino R20, Weiderpass E21, Skeie G22, Lund E22, Quirós JR23, Ardanaz E24, Navarro C25, Amiano P26, Sánchez MJ27, Buckland G6, Ericson U28, Sonestedt E28, Johansson M29, Sund M30, Travis RC31, Key TJ31, Khaw KT32, Wareham N33, Riboli E34, van Gils CH. (PubMed)
(3) Trends for Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Is Survival Improving?
 by Ana M. Gonzalez-Anguloa, Bryan T. Hennessyb, Kristine Broglioc,
Funda Meric-Bernstamd, Massimo Cristofanillia, Sharon H. Giordanoa,Thomas A. Buchholze,Aysegul Sahinf, S. Eva Singletaryd, Aman U. Buzdara andGabriel N. Hortobágyia (The Oncologist)