Folic Acid May Prevent Cancer

[Angel]

Folic acid is good for more than preventing birth defects. A new study reveals it may also prevent cancer.

Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin found in fresh fruits and vegetables. It is one of the most commonly reported vitamin deficiencies in the U.S.

population. Previous studies revealed smokers with high folate intake have a lower risk of developing lung cancer than those without high folate intake.

Italian researchers wanted to know if folic acid supplements, a form of folate, would prevent cancer in patients with laryngeal leukoplakia, a precancerous lesion in the throat.

Forty-three patients with untreated pre-cancerous lesions in their throats were given five milligrams of folic acid three times a day for six months. At the end of the study, 12 patients, or 28 percent, no longer had precancerous lesions, and 19 of the patients had their lesions half the size or less than at the beginning of the study. Another 12 patients had no change in the size of the lesion.

The researchers say the results suggest folic acid, either alone or with other cancer-preventing drugs, could prevent cancer from forming in patients with pre-cancerous lesions of the larynx.

The researchers are next planning a larger trial of folic acid supplements for patients who have had pre-cancerous lesions removed from their larynx.