Vitamin A, a useful biochemical modulator capable of preventing intestinal damage during methotrexate treatment

The effects of vitamin A on methotrexate treatment of mice inoculated with L1210 leukaemia cells or sarcoma 180 cells were studied. The small intestine of tumour transplanted mice was severely damaged after methotrexate treatment. Coadministration of vitamin A with methotrexate protected the small intestine from methotrexate-induced damage. The protective effect of vitamin A was histologically and biochemically demonstrated. Further, coadministration of vitamin A did not inhibit in vivo antitumour activity of methotrexate. Thus, biochemical modulation used to prevent methotrexate-induced malabsorption by vitamin A coadministration will be of great use in methotrexate cancer chemotherapy.