Nutrient antioxidants in the pathogenesis and prevention of cervical dysplasias and cancer

Abstract

The role of the nutritional factors in biochemical interactions that are part of an oncogenic process or inhibit free radical proliferation have attracted considerable interest in relation to molecular mechanism(s) and the natural history of human cancer. Epidemiologic and experimental studies have drawn attention to the association between dietary micronutrient deficiencies and the incidence of neoplastic and malignant lesions. In the last two decades, the role(s) of retinoids, carotenoids, tocopherols and water‐soluble antioxidant vitamins, and allegations of anti‐tumor properties in the daily dietary consumption of fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables, have captured the attention of an increasingly sensitive diet‐and health care‐conscious public, the biochemical community, and industrial food producers. Moreover, recent epidemiologic and compelling advances in molecular biology have linked the presence of restricted human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes to cervical carcinoma and precursor lesions. In the present report, we identify and review measurable effects of dietary deficiencies of selected antioxidant micronutrients (i.e., β‐carotene and vitamins A, C, and E) and their associations with known cervix cancer risk factors in the pathogenesis and potential prevention of cervix dysplasias, presumed to be the precursor lesions of cervix cancer.