Title:Vitamins for Cancer Prevention and Treatment: An Insight
VOLUME: 17 ISSUE: 5
Author(s):A. Jain, A. Tiwari, A. Verma and S.K. Jain*
Affiliation:Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, GLA University, NH-2, Mathura-Delhi Road, Mathura (U.P.), 281 406, Pharmaceutics Research Projects Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Hari Singh Gour Central University, Sagar (M.P.), 470 003, Pharmaceutics Research Projects Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Hari Singh Gour Central University, Sagar (M.P.), 470 003, Pharmaceutics Research Projects Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Hari Singh Gour Central University, Sagar (M.P.), 470 003
Keywords:Vitamin, cancer, prevention, treatment, diet, metabolism, targeting.
Abstract:Over a few decades a strong interlink between oxidative damage and cancer
has been investigated by various scientists across the world on the basis of
epidemiological observations of the effects of fruits and vegetables used in the diet for
cancer patients. Primarily, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin E are reported to be
involved in the amelioration of side effects which occur in chemotherapy and radiation
therapy of lungs, stomach, prostate, colorectal, gastric head and neck cancers. The
vitamins acting as antioxidant adjuvants are found to have apoptotic and antiangiogenesis
potential as well as inhibitory effects against metastasis in cancer cells.
This chapter explicitly discusses the key aspects concerned with the vitamins in relation
to cancer prevention and treatment. It describes vitamins and their natural resources,
role of vitamins in the body, and vitamins as prime ingredients in the diet and their effects
on cancer biology with reference to recent research reports. Moreover, this paper also
includes the emerging potential of pharmaceutical advances to enhance bioavailability of
the vitamins to cancer patients with improved safety and efficacy. Clinicians and
researchers must mull over the nutritional requirements of individual cancer patient so as
to treat cancer and increase life expectancy.