Co-carcinogenic effect of β-carotene

M. Paolini (), G. Cantelli-Forti, P. Perocco, G. F. Pedulli, S. Z. Abdel-Rahman and M. S. Legator
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M. Paolini: Biochemical Toxicology Unit
G. Cantelli-Forti: Biochemical Toxicology Unit
P. Perocco: Institute of Cancerology
G. F. Pedulli: Department of Organic Chemistry A. Mangini
S. Z. Abdel-Rahman: University of Texas Medical Branch
M. S. Legator: University of Texas Medical Branch

Nature, 1999, vol. 398, issue 6730, 760-761

Abstract: Abstract Epidemiological and animal studies on vitamin A and its analogues support the hypothesis that β-carotene can prevent cancer in humans1. However, chemoprevention trials have unexpectedly shown that β-carotene, either alone or in combination with vitamin A or vitamin E, actually increases lung-cancer incidence and mortality in heavy smokers and asbestos workers2,3,4. We find that β-carotene in rat lung produces a powerful booster effect on phase I carcinogen-bioactivating enzymes, including activators of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and that this induction is associated with the generation of oxidative stress. Our findings might explain why β-carotene supplementation increases the risk of lung cancer in smokers.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/19655

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