Plasma Carotenoids and Retinol and Overall and Breast Cancer Risk: A Nested Case-Control Study

• Published in: Nutrition and cancer 2014-01, Vol.66 (6), p.980-988
• Main Authors: Pouchieu, Camille, Galan, Pilar, Ducros, Véronique, Latino-Martel, Paule, Hercberg, Serge, Touvier, Mathilde
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; beta Carotene - blood; beta-carotene; beta-cryptoxanthin; Body Mass Index; Breast cancer; breast neoplasms; Breast Neoplasms - blood; carcinogenesis; Carcinogens; Carotenoids - blood; Case-Control Studies; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Colorectal Neoplasms - blood; confidence interval; Cryptoxanthins - blood; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Head and Neck Neoplasms - blood; Health risk assessment; high performance liquid chromatography; Humans; Life Sciences; Logistic Models; Lung Neoplasms - blood; lycopene; Male; Middle Aged; nutrition; odds ratio; Plasma; Prospective Studies; Prostatic Neoplasms - blood; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; regression analysis; risk; Risk Factors; vitamin A; Vitamin A - blood; Vitamins
• ISSN: 1532-7914; 0163-5581; 1532-7914
• DOI: 10.1080/01635581.2014.936952

Experimental studies suggest that carotenoids and retinol may play a role in carcinogenesis, but epidemiological evidence is lacking. We investigated the prospective associations between plasma concentrations of major carotenoids and retinol, and overall and breast cancer risk. A nested case-control study included all first incident cancer cases diagnosed in the SU.VI.MAX cohort between 1994 and 2002 (n = 159 cases, 1 matched control/case). Baseline plasma concentrations of carotenoids and retinol were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess odds ratios for an increase of 0.1 μmol/L [odds ratio (OR)] and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Plasma β-carotene (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.90–0.99, P ₜᵣₑₙd = 0.04) and β-cryptoxanthin concentrations (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.81–0.99, P ₜᵣₑₙd = 0.03) were inversely associated with overall cancer risk. Plasma β-cryptoxanthin concentration was inversely associated with breast cancer risk (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.71–0.96, P ₜᵣₑₙd = 0.02). The OR between plasma lycopene concentration and overall cancer risk was 1.07 (0.99–1.15), P ₜᵣₑₙd = 0.06. This association turned significant (P ₜᵣₑₙd = 0.01) when excluding cancer cases diagnosed during the first year of follow-up. This prospective study suggests an inverse association between plasma concentrations of β-cryptoxanthin and both overall and breast cancer risk, and an inverse association between β-carotene and overall cancer risk. The direct association between lycopene concentration and cancer risk deserves further investigation.