Vitamin A analogue protects against breast cancer

A synthetic vitamin A analogue, fenretinide, reduced the rate of second breast cancers in premenopausal women in a study by Dr Umberto Veronesi of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori and the European Institute of Oncology in Milan and colleagues (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1999;91:1847-56).

In postmenopausal women, however, it seemed to increase the risk of a second breast cancer. The drug also reduced the rate of ovarian cancer in women under 50.

“Chemoprevention is relatively new. The carcinogenic process is multi-step and this substance might interfere with and stop the process,” said Dr Veronesi at a press conference …