Vitamins, carotenoids and microelements in prostate carcinogenesis

Abstract

Epidemiology and prophylaxis of prostate cancer (CaP) has remained a pressing and challenging issue for many decades. One of its aspects is the role of food additives and diet which diff er for people of various regions. Multiple dubious epidemiologic and clinical studies on this issue warrant further clinical and experimental research into the role of vitamins and microelements in different stages of prostate cancer initiation and development. The use of complex clinical and histological evaluation of urologic patients and blood sampling is viewed for vitamins as well as lipid peroxidation products and 21 microelements. The test subjects included 115 male patients of the Urology clinic – 95 patients with different kinds of prostate gland oncopathology and 20 males without prostate pathology. The results have shown a statistically significant deviation of the levels of certain substances in the blood. Patients with CaP had reduced levels of antioxidants (lycopene, vitamin Е, germanium, selenium) and increased levels of pro-oxidants (aluminum and conjugated dienes). We have demonstrated that patients with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) have decreased blood levels of vitamin C, total carotenoids, germanium, selenium and increased levels of aluminum and conjugated dienes. Malignant transformation of prostate gland cells is associated with a decreased blood level of antioxidants (lycopene, carotenoids, vitamin Е, vitamin C, germanium, sulfur, selenium) and a increased level of pro-oxidants (aluminum and conjugated dienes). The aforementioned changes associated with the mechanism of prostate carcinogenesis are already detected in patients with HGPIN (precancer) with no further progression in patients with developed CaP.

Keywords

• prostate cancer
• precancer
• vitamins
• microelements