Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is a common skin cancer. Overall, it makes up about 20% of all skin cancer cases.
About 12% of men and 7% of women in the United States will develop it at some point in time.
Normally, it’s not much of a problem, but occasionally it can spread and be deadly. So, it’s always great to find easy and safe ways to prevent it. And that is just what a recent study offers.
The researchers knew that vitamin A and other vitamin-A-related nutrients called retinoids are essential for maintaining the growth and health of skin and other epithelial tissues, such as the bladder and intestinal tract. So they set out to find out if these nutrients were able to prevent cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
To do the study, they followed the fate of 75,170 women and 48,400 men over 25 years. During that time, they had 3,978 cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Over the 25 years, they tracked the overall intake of vitamin A and other retinoids. Here’s what they discovered.
The higher the vitamin A intake was, the less likely it was that the men and women got cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. In fact, the highest levels of intake decreased the chance of getting cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma by an average of 17%. A higher intake of the other retinoids – lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin – also reduced the risk by 11%.
The highest food sources of vitamin A are liver, dairy products, and fish. The other retinoids are found in high quantities in dark green and yellow, orange, and red vegetables. I like to take 25,000 units of vitamin A one to two times a week just as a general preventive.
Yours for better health,
Frank Shallenberger, MD
Sources:
REF: Kim J, Park MK, et al. Association of Vitamin A Intake With Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk in the United States. JAMA Dermatol. 2019 Jul 31.