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Essential Nutrients in Carcinogenesis pp 379–398Cite as

Some Thoughts on the Relationship between Vitamin a and Cancer

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Abstract

Retinoids clearly show both prophylactic and therapeutic effects against many kinds of neoplasm. Vitamin A deficiency and vitamin A excess, which are very different states clinically and metabolically, should be separately considered relative to carcinogenesis. The anticancer effects of retinoids and related compounds may be more closely related to their chemical structure than to their similarity to the structure and function of vitamin A. Retinoids act on cells and tissues in a number of ways. Although many interesting ideas have been proposed to clarify their mode of action, no single hypothesis adequately explains their many molecular interactions and responses. Investigation of early molecular interactions between retinoids and cells and the subsequent metabolism of retinoids in neoplastic and normal cells may aid in the clarification of their action as antineoplastic agents.

Supported in part by grants from the U.S. Public Health Service (AM-32793, EY-03677), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (84-CRCR-1-1418), Iowa State University (Nutrition in Cancer Research, 019R, and the Allen Whitfield Memorial Fund)‚ and the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.

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Abbreviations

RBP:

retinol-binding protein

LDL:

low density lipoprotein

TPA:

12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-phorbol-acetate

ODC:

ornithine decarboxylase

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA

    James Allen Olson

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  1. James Allen Olson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Comparative Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute, Frederick Cancer Research Facility, Frederick, Maryland, USA

    Lionel A. Poirier

  2. Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Paul M. Newberne

  3. Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Michael W. Pariza

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Olson, J.A. (1986). Some Thoughts on the Relationship between Vitamin a and Cancer. In: Poirier, L.A., Newberne, P.M., Pariza, M.W. (eds) Essential Nutrients in Carcinogenesis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1835-4_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1835-4_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9025-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1835-4

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