Humana Nutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment: 27 (Experimental Biology and Medicine, 27)

Nutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment contains articles that were presented by leading researchers and physicians in the field of nutritional oncology. Most of the previous conference proceedings on Nutrition and Cancer have dealt primarily with the issue of the role of nutrients in cancer prevention. This is logical because enormous quantities of laboratory and epi demiologic data have been published on the topic. Nutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment also contains several studies on the role of diet and vitamins in cancer treat ment. There are very few books that have reviewed laboratory and clinical studies and the role of vitamins in cancer treatment. There are preliminary data suggesting that daily supplementa tion with high doses of certain vitamins in combination with conventional therapeutic agents may enhance their growth inhibitory effects on tumor cells, and may protect normal tissues against some of their toxic effects. This book is unique in the sense that several articles have discussed the mechanisms of action of individual vitamins on cellular and molecular parameters. It is very exciting to note that some of the vitamins inhibit protein kinase C activity, increase the production of certain growth factors, and modulate the expression of a number of oncogenes. These studies, at least in part, offer rationales for the cancer protective effects of vitamins.