Plasma levels of antioxidant β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol in uterine cervix dysplasias and cancer

Abstract

Chronic human health problems, namely arteriosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, and cancer, may be caused by highly active oxygen species and may be preventable by antioxidant vitamins. In humans, the sources of two major antioxidants, β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol, are dietary. In this study, we measured the plasma concentrations of ß‐carotene and a‐tocopherol by reverse‐phase high‐pressure liquid chromatography in a cross‐sectional sampling of 116 women. Significantly reduced plasma levels of β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol were observed in women with histopathologically diagnosed cervical dysplasias or cancer (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.005, respectively). There was an inverse association between the plasma levels of both β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol and increasingly severe graded cervical histopathology. In groups with advanced dysplasias, the percentage of smokers was markedly increased and the women were comparatively older (p < 0.0001). A strong association was noted between smoking status and plasma β‐carotene levels, independent of cervical pathology. However, this was not evident with respect to a‐tocopherol. The findings suggest that the antioxidants β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol have biologic functions that are interdependent in the pathogenesis of cervical intraepithelial lesions and cervical cancer.