Folic Acid Cuts Children’s Cancer

Folic acid can prevent the horrible birth defect called spina bifida. It also can prevent a deadly childhood cancer, Canadian researchers report.

“This is the first [children’s] cancer that can be prevented through [the mother’s] diet,” says Gideon Koren, MD, in a news release. Koren led the study, which appears in the September 2003 issue of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Folic Acid and a Killer Cancer If a woman of childbearing age doesn’t get enough folic acid — a B vitamin — her baby risks neural tube defects. The most common of these is spina bifida, a leading cause of childhood paralysis in which the spinal cord is exposed. That’s why folic acid is added to flour. It’s been the law in the U.S. since 1998 and in Canada since 1997. Since then, doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto noticed they were seeing fewer cases of an awful cancer. It’s called neuroblastoma. Children are born with seeds of the tumor, but it doesn’t become obvious until they are 1 to 4 years old. By then, it’s often too late. It’s the most deadly kind of cancer for children in this age group. Sure enough, Koren’s team found that neuroblastoma rates dropped by 60% since folic acid was added to flour. The study raises the exciting possibility that folic acid might be used to treat neuroblastoma. Koren, director of HCS’s Motherisk Program and professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto, says he’s planning a study. A new treatment would be welcome. Neuroblastoma tumors begin in specialized nerve cells. They don’t start in the brain, but they often start in the chest or belly. That makes them very hard to find until they spread — and once that happens, they’re hard to cure. A Message to Women Once you know you’re pregnant, it’s too late to start taking folic acid. Neural tube defects such as spina bifida happen in the very first weeks of pregnancy. That’s why all women who might become pregnant should be sure to get enough folic acid. Women of childbearing age should consume 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily both before pregnancy and during the first trimester of pregnancy as recommended by the CDC. Sure, it’s in the flour. But to make sure you get enough, it’s wise to eat foods rich in folate (another word for folic acid). These foods include: Vegetables, especially dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach. A half-cup contains about 131 mcg. Fruits, particularly citrus. A 6 oz cup of orange juice contains about 82 mcg. Beans. A half-cup of garbanzo beans contains about 141 mcg. A half-cup of lentils contains 179 mcg. Whole grains Fortified breakfast cereals. One cup contains 200-400 mcg. And just to be sure, it can’t hurt to take a vitamin supplement that includes folic acid. ——————————————————————————–(Source: Koren, G. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, September 2003; vol 74: pp 288-294. Center for Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, National Institutes of Health. News release, University of Toronto. Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: WebMD Health)