Breast Cancer And Folic Acid Vitamins

Despite many advances in treating breast cancer, almost 203,000 women in the United States were diagnosed in 2007, with over 40,000 deaths from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Folic acid has shown promise in preventing some types of cancer, but the evidence is mixed, especially concerning its effects on breast cancer. However, folic acid may be helpful in women with the disease who are also heavy alcohol drinkers.

Identification

Folic acid is one of the B-complex vitamins and is also known as folate, although folic acid and folate are slightly different. Folate is the naturally occurring vitamin contained in foods like liver, citrus fruits and dark green leafy vegetables, while folic acid is the synthetic form that is easier for your body to absorb. Supplements of folic acid are usually sold in tablets or powder form, with the recommended daily allowance at 400 mcg per day for everyone except pregnant women, who need 600 mcg.

Properties

Both folic acid and folate are important to help your body manufacture and maintain DNA and red blood cells. Low levels of the vitamin are linked to birth defects of the brain and spine and higher rates of colorectal cancer. Folic acid has also been used to help prevent Alzheimer's disease, high blood pressure and chronic fatigue syndrome. The exact mechanism by which folic acid lowers cancer risk for some cancers isn't known. However, low levels of the vitamin can alter DNA, which in turn alters how effectively cells divide without cancerous mutations.

Potential Risks

Researchers with the American Cancer Society published a study in June 2010 in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" on postmenopausal breast cancer in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. They found the highest quintile of dietary folate intake was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer. The results of research in Sweden, published in the September 2010 issue of the "Journal of Nutrition," found a positive association between folate and a type of breast cancer known as estrogen receptor beta. Another 2010 study in Korea, published in "Nutrition and Cancer," showed a higher breast cancer risk was linked to a higher intake of nitrates and folate.

Potential Benefits

Women who drink more alcohol but also consume adequate levels of folate have a lower breast cancer risk than those who drink and don't have enough folate in their diet. That was the conclusion of a study published in "Cancer Causes and Control" in June 2010 that looked at the dietary behaviors of over 2,000 women in Mexico. A report in "Cancer Research" in March 2010 linked high levels of the amino acid homocysteine to breast cancer in women who didn't get enough folic acid. Scientists in Korea also concluded, in a study published in "Nutrition and Cancer" in 2010, that women who had higher folate levels had a lower risk for breast cancer due to the antioxidant effects on ataxia telangiectasia mutated, or ATM gene, cells that can lead to cancer.

No Effects

As part of the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, 66,561 postmenopausal women were surveyed regarding diet and cancer risk. The results, as published in February 2003 in "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention," showed that among the 1,303 cases of women who developed breast cancer, there was an increased risk among alcohol drinkers, but no risk or benefit associated with folic acid. Unlike the Mexico study, however, there was no cancer benefit for alcohol drinkers who also had adequate folic acid levels.