Folate and cancer prevention

Folate and cancer prevention: a new medical application of folate beyond hyperhomocysteinemia and neural tube defects

YI Kim

Folate is an important cofactor in the transfer of carbon residues and plays a key role in DNA synthesis, repair, and methylation. The role of folate has evolved greatly from the prevention of macrocytic anemia to the prevention of cardiovascular disease and neural tube defects. More recently, epidemiological, animal, and clinical evidence suggests that folate may also play a role in cancer prevention. Two recently published large prospective epidemiological studies suggest that maintaining adequate serum folate levels or moderately increasing folate intake from dietary sources and vitamin supplements can significantly reduce the risk of pancreatic and breast cancer, respectively. This protective effect of folate appears to be operative in subjects at risk of developing these cancers, namely men who smoke for pancreatic cancer and women who regularly consume a moderate amount of alcohol for breast cancer. Because the increasingly important role of folate nutrition in cancer prevention has important public health implications, research is required to clearly elucidate the effect of folate on carcinogenesis.