Personalized and Precision Medicine Journal

Abstract Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and its frequency is rising in countries with low and middle incomes. The influence of diet on mammary carcinogenesis has been clearly demonstrated in animal models. Inadequate folate intake has been associated with several cancers, and low levels of serum folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 have been associated with increased breast cancer risk. The levels of folic acid, B6, and B12 in the plasma of 85 people with breast cancer were measured and compared with healthy people. A significant inverse trend was observed between folate intake (p-value=0.004) and vitamin B6 intake (p-value=0.0001) and breast cancer risk. Data from this study suggests that B vitamins, including folate, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12, may confer little or no reduction in overall risk of developing breast cancer.

Abstract Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer and an important cause of death in women worldwide. Objective biomarkers are needed to improve specificity for cervical cancer screening. The p16 gene is implicated in the cell cycle control, playing an important role as a tumor suppressor gene. In this study, the methylation of the P16 gene promoter was evaluated in people with cervical cancer and people with the papilloma virus. The study population included nine women with cervical cancer whose malignancy had been confirmed by a pathologist and ten patients with high-risk types of HPV virus. Methylation status was evaluated by MS-PCR. Cervical cancer patients showed a significantly higher methylation frequency for the p16 gene as compared to the control and the HPV group (p=0.001).