United States, November 5: New research has revealed that taking a combination of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 will not help in preventing cancer.
A study published in the November 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that daily intake of folic acid and vitamin B supplements did not have any significant effect on the overall cancer risk for women found to be at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Shumin Zhang, associate professor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston said that "in women at risk of cardiovascular disease, we found that folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 had no beneficial or harmful effects on the risk of invasive cancer or breast cancer."
To assess the effect of a daily intake of the combination of folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, Dr. Zhang and her team studied the data of 5,442 women who took part in the “Women’s Antioxidant and Folic Acid Cardiovascular Study.”
The participants of the study comprise of U.S. women health professionals, 42 years old and above who had a pre-existing cardiovascular disease or three or more risks factors for cardiovascular disease.
The participants were grouped randomly. One group was given a daily combination of 2.5 mg folic acid, 50 mg vitamin B6, and 1 mg vitamin B12 while the other was given a placebo. They received the supplements for 7.3 years, starting from April 1998 and ending in July 2005.
Throughout the course of the study, 379 women developed invasive cancer with 187 women coming from the treatment group and 70 women coming from the placebo group. Among the women who developed cancer, 154 had breast cancer with 70 coming from the treatment group and 84 coming from the placebo group.
The results obtained were not statistically significant but when the data was grouped according to age, the researchers noted a significant effect of the supplements. Data showed a decrease in the risk for breast cancer and other invasive cancers for women over the age of 65.
Researchers reported that: “If the finding is real and substantiated, the results may have public health significance because the incidence rates of cancer are high in elderly persons. The finding is biologically plausible because elderly individuals have increased requirements for these B vitamins.” However, Dr. Zhang cautioned that the results needs further study.
In January 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has mandated that folic acid should be added to breads and cereals to reduce risks for neural tube defects. In the U.S., one-third of the adult population takes a multi-vitamin supplement which contains folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12.
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