Summary
Serum concentrations of the vitamins A and E were measured in 38 postmenopausal women with either malignant, borderline, or benign epithelial ovarian tumors or with a normal ovary. No statistically significant differences were found in the levels of the vitamins between the various groups. The levels of both vitamins in the ovarian vein were also measured in malignant and benign ovarian tumors. The concentration of vitamin A in the ovarian vein of a patient with a malignant tumor was lower than in the peripheral vein, although the difference was not significant. The findings indicate that the vitamin A and E are not of great importance to the metabolism of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basu TK (1979) Vitamin A and cancer of epithelial origin. J Hum Nutr 33: 24–31
Basu TK, Rowlands L, Jones L, Kohn J (1982) Vitamin A and retinol-binding protein in patients with myelomatosis and cancer of epithelial origin. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol 18: 339–342
Chu EW, Malmgren RA (1965) An inhibitory effect of vitamin A on the induction of tumors of forestomach and cervix in the Syrian hamster by carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons. Cancer Res 25: 884–895
Combs GF, Scott ML (1977) Nutritional interrelationships of vitamin E and selenium. Bioscience 27: 467–473
Cook MG, McNamara P (1980) Effect of dietary vitamin E on dimethylhydrazine-induced colonic tumors in mice. Cancer Res 40: 1329–1332
De Leenheer AP, De Bevere VO, De Ruyter MGM, Claeys AE (1979) Simultaneous determination of retinol and alpha-tocopherol in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr 162: 408–413
Ibrahim K, Jafarey NA, Zuberi SJ (1977) Plasma vitamin A and carotene levels in squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity and oro-pharynx. Clin Oncol 3: 203–207
Lotan R (1980) Effects of vitamin A and its analogs (retinoids) on normal and neoplastic cells. Biochim Biophys Acta 605: 33–91
Machlin LJ, Brin M (1980) Vitamin E. In: Alfin-Slater RB, Kritchevsky D (eds) Human Nutrition. A comprehensive treatise, vol 3B. Plenum Press, New York, pp 245–266
Palan PR, Romney SL (1980) Cellular binding proteins for vitamin A in human carcinomas and in normal tissues. Cancer Res 40: 4221–4224
Parviamen MT, Koskinen T (1983) The vitamin A, D and E status in a Finnish population — a multivitamin study. Hum Nutr Clin Nutr 37C: 397–403
Shamberger RJ (1970) Relationship of selenium to cancer: I. Inhibitory effect of selenium on carcinogenesis. J Natl Cancer Inst 44: 931–936
Shklar G (1982) Oral mucosal carcinogenesis in hamsters: Inhibition by vitamin E. J Natl Cancer Inst 68: 791–797
Willett WC, Polk BF, Morris JS, Stampfer MJ, Pressel S, Rosner B, Taylor JO, Schneider K, Hames CG (1983) Prediagnostic serum selenium and risk of cancer. Lancet II: 130–134
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heinonen, P.K., Koskinen, T. & Tuimala, R. Serum levels of vitamins A and E in women with ovarian cancer. Arch. Gynecol. 237, 37–40 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02133950
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02133950