Vitamin A ‘could have key role in cancer care’

Scientists at York University, funded by the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research, have discovered that retinoic acid – a chemical made from vitamin A which occurs in carrots, green vegetables and liver – can turn specific genes within prostate cancer stem cells back on, reducing the ability of the cancer to invade surrounding tissue.

The findings suggest that vitamin A-related compounds could be used to enhance clinical treatments for prostate cancer.

Prof Norman Maitland, who led the work, said retinoic acid had already been “hugely successful” in treating a type of leukaemia.

“For prostate cancer, our work suggests that retinoic acid would not need to kill the cancer stem cells, but simply switch them to a more treatable form,” he said.

Nearly 41,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK, and although around 80 per cent survive for five years, more than 10,000 men die annually from the disease.

Prof Maitland added: “It has been known for many years that low vitamin A in samples of men’s blood is associated with prostate cancer, but nobody knew the mechanisms involved. This is an exciting new development which links an element from our diet to prostate cancer stem cells.”

The team at York University has received £2.15 million from the cancer charity for pioneering research into prostate cancer and has been examining how it spreads, survives and resists aggressive treatments.