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Related Experiment Videos

Nutritional interventions in cancer prevention.

Philip R Taylor1, Peter Greenwald

  • 1National Cancer Institute, 6116 Executive Blvd, Rm 705, Bethesda, MD 20892-8314, USA. ptaylor@mail.nih.gov

Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
|January 8, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Large-scale trials on vitamin and mineral supplements for cancer prevention are complete. Most interventions, including beta-carotene and selenium, showed no significant benefit in preventing cancer overall or in specific sites.

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Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Nutritional Science
  • Clinical Trials

Background:

  • First-generation phase III cancer prevention studies utilizing nutritional interventions have concluded.
  • Previous research explored the potential of vitamins and minerals in cancer prevention.
  • High participant numbers and rigorous study designs characterized these initial trials.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review findings from the initial wave of human experimental studies on micronutrients for cancer prevention.
  • To discuss lessons learned from these large-scale randomized controlled trials.
  • To identify promising avenues and future directions for nutritional intervention research in oncology.

Main Methods:

  • Nine randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving nearly 150,000 participants.

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  • Interventions tested single or combined vitamins and/or minerals.
  • Primary agents included beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, selenium, and retinol.

    • Main Results:

    • The majority of interventions did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect on preventing total or site-specific cancers.
    • Specific micronutrients like beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol showed no overall benefit and, in some cases, potential harm.
    • The review synthesizes outcomes across multiple large-scale nutritional intervention studies.

    Conclusions:

    • The first generation of large-scale micronutrient trials for cancer prevention yielded largely negative results.
    • Lessons learned emphasize the complexity of nutritional influences on cancer and the need for refined research strategies.
    • Future research should focus on targeted populations, specific nutrient combinations, and novel biomarkers.