Vitamins A and D but not E and K decreased the cell number in human pancreatic cancer cell lines

Abstract

Background: The four fat‐soluble vitamins A, D, E and K have been tested in experimental and human studies to assess their influence on the growth of cancer cells of different origins. Receptors for vitamin A and D have been detected on pancreatic cancer cells, and analogues of these reduced the cell number in vitro. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fat‐soluble vitamins on the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. Methods: The seven cell lines used were established from patients operated on for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The effect of incubation with the vitamin A analogues all‐trans‐retinoic acid (atRA;tretinoin) and 9‐cis‐retinoic acid (9‐cis‐RA), the synthetic vitamin D analogue EB 1089, vitamin E succinate and K ₁ on the cell number was examined by the XTT method. Results: The vitamin A and D analogues decreased the pancreatic cancer cell number when high concentrations of 10 ⁻⁵ – 10 ⁻⁴ M were administered. A combination of retinoids and the vitamin D analogue EB 1089 did not enhance the effect. Vitamin E succinate inhibited cell growth to a small extent (maximal 26%) in 3 out of 7 cell lines, whereas vitamin K ₁ increased the pancreatic cancer cell number in 3 out of 7 cell lines. Conclusion: High concentrations of vitamin A and D analogues decreased the cell number in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Vitamin E succinate and K ₁ did not have this effect. In the treatment of pancreatic cancer, further exploration of vitamin D analogues could be fruitful.

• Cell number
• lipid‐soluble vitamins
• pancreatic cancer
• vitamin A
• vitamin D
• vitamin E
• vitamin K
• XTT