BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University
report that women with breast cancer tend to have lower vitamin
B12 levels in their blood serum than do women without breast
cancer. The researchers determined vitamin B12 concentrations in
blood samples obtained in 1974 and in 1989 and compared the levels
found in 195 women who later developed breast cancer with the
levels found in 195 women free of cancer. They found that
postmenopausal women with the lowest serum levels of vitamin B12
had a 2.5-4.0 times greater likelihood of being in the breast
cancer group than did women with the highest levels. The
researchers found no correlation between breast cancer risk and
serum levels of folic acid, vitamin B6, and homocysteine.
In a subsequent review of the findings Dr. Sang-Woon Choi, MD of
Tufts University points out that serum levels of folate are a poor
indicator of levels in tissues and that it may well be that there
is a correlation between folate levels in breast tissue and breast
cancer risk. Dr. Choi speculates that a vitamin B12 deficiency
may lead to breast cancer because it could result in less folate
being available to ensure proper DNA replication and
repair.
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