Retinoids, Carotenoids, and Tocopherols in Breast Adipose Tissue and Serum of Benign Breast Disease and Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Various retinoic acid (RA) isomers (all-trans, 13-cis, 11-cis, and 9-cis) as well as retinol, carotenoids, and tocopherol concentrations were determined in both serum and breast adipose tissue of 22 benign breast disease patients and 52 breast cancer patients categorized into 4 stages by malignancy. Serum RA isomers were analyzed by a newly developed sensitive method combining a high-performance liquid chromatography and a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and retinol, carotenoid, and tocopherol concentrations using a high-performance liquid chromatography system. The breast cancer patients showed significantly lower serum retinol, whereas significantly higher breast adipose tissue retinol concentration than those of benign breast disease patients. Although breast cancer patients showed significantly higher serum all-trans and 13-cis RA concentrations, 11-cis RA in breast adipose tissue was significantly lower in the breast cancer patients than those of benign breast disease patients and it was associated with the stage of malignancy. The current study indicates that the retinol and RA isomers in the target tissue of breast tumor patients are not reflecting their concentrations in circulation. The mechanisms of tissue specific uptake of RA isomers and their functions warrant further studies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been supported in part by the Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2003-042-C20116) and U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 58–1950-51000-065-08S. Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The authors thank the volunteers who participated in this study and acknowledge no conflict of interest.