Publisher's Synopsis
Since the 1970s there has been an intense interest in studying vitamin A as an active chemopreventive agent. Observational epidemiological studies have not shown consistent cancer-preventive effects. Vitamin A, often in combination with other compounds, has been studied in several randomized trials. Overall, there is little evidence that supplementation for a few years would reduce the risk of any type of cancer. This book summarizes and evaluates the existing evidence on the cancer-preventive activity of vitamin A following the meeting of a working group of international experts in Lyon, on the 13-19 May 1998, to evaluate the existing evidence on the cancer-preventive activity of retinol and retinyl esters.
