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Relationships of serum carotenoids, retinol, α-tocopherol, and selenium with breast cancer risk: results from a prospective study in Columbia, Missouri (United States)

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Abstract

To evaluate relationships of serum carotenoids, α-tocopherol, selenium, and retinol with breast cancer prospectively, we conducted a case-control study nested in a cohort from the Breast Cancer Serum Bank in Columbia, Missouri (United States). Women free of cancer donated blood to this bank in 1977-87. During up to 9.5 years of follow-up (median = 2.7 years), 105 cases of histologically confirmed breast cancer were diagnosed. For each case, two women alive and free of cancer at the age of the case's diagnosis and matched on age and date of blood collection were selected as controls. A nonsignificant gradient of decreasing risk of breast cancer with increasing serum β-cryptoxanthin was apparent for all women. Serum lycopene also was associated inversely with risk, and among women who donated blood at least two years before diagnosis, a significant gradient of decreasing breast cancer risk with increasing lycopene concentration was evident. Amarginally significant gradient of decreasing risk with increasing serum lutein/zeaxanthin also was apparent among these women. We did not observe any evidence for protective effects of α- and β-carotene, α-tocopherol, retinol, or selenium for breast cancer. Results of this study suggest that the carotenoids β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein/zeaxanthin may protect against breast cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA

    Joanne F. Dorgan, Christine A. Swanson & Nancy Potischman

  2. Division of Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA

    Anne Sowell

  3. Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, Columbia, USA

    Rosetta Miller

  4. Information Management Services, Inc, Silver Spring, USA

    Nicki Schussler

  5. University of Missouri Health Sciences Center, Columbia, USA

    Hugh E. Stephenson Jr. (Grodon Distinguished Professor of Surgery Emeritus)

Authors
  1. Joanne F. Dorgan
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  2. Anne Sowell
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  7. Hugh E. Stephenson Jr.
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Dorgan, J.F., Sowell, A., Swanson, C.A. et al. Relationships of serum carotenoids, retinol, α-tocopherol, and selenium with breast cancer risk: results from a prospective study in Columbia, Missouri (United States). Cancer Causes Control 9, 89–97 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008857521992

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