Several B-vitamins (vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate and riboflavin) are involved with one-carbon metabolism: complex, metabolic pathways that provide methyl groups (1-carbon molecules) to many different substrates, some of which are very important in DNA replication and repair, as well as in the regulation of gene expression. Thus, intake of B-vitamins may play an important role in the development of various cancers.
In a recently published study, researchers from Australia determined the association of B-vitamin intake with the development of lung cancer. The investigators used the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, which recruited 41,514 men and women aged 40-69 years old in 1990 to 1994, to ascertain the relationship between B-vitamin intake and the development of lung cancer in a follow up cohort of approximately 37,000 people over an average of 15 years. Forty-one percent of these subjects were former or current smokers, although only 11 percent were current smokers. During this follow up period, there were 348 new cases of lung cancer that developed in the entire cohort.
There was no relationship between the intake of any B-vitamin and overall risk of developing lung cancer. However, within the group of current smokers, there was a significant reduction in lung cancer risk with higher intakes of riboflavin intake. For example, the risk of developing lung cancer during the follow up period in current smokers was reduced by 47 percent in those with the highest riboflavin intake. These observations are noteworthy because they may suggest that higher riboflavin intake might protect against the risk of lung cancer in current smokers.
Source from: Bassett JK et al. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 31 August 2011; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.157 (advanced online publication)
