Cancer is a complex disease with many moving parts, which helps explain the scale of the problem faced by those trying to eradicate it . However, progress is being made in understanding risk relationships. One study found that widespread vitamin deficiencies, which affect one in ten older Britons, were associated with a “five-fold” increase in the risk of stomach cancer.
Both biology and lifestyle can stimulate the development of cancer cells. Elucidation of the risk factors at work is a constant challenge for researchers in this field. One of the less well-known, but nonetheless worrying, associations is vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B12 performs several important functions in the body, including maintaining a healthy nervous system.
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B12 deficiency is more common in older people, affecting about one in 10 people aged 75 and over and one in 20 people aged 65 to 74. A number of studies over the years have identified a link between low B12 deficiency and cancer.
New study finds link between low B12 levels and stomach cancer.
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Serum concentrations of several nutrients (vitamin B12, folate) acid, vitamin B6, riboflavin, and homocysteine) in a study of male smokers.
The aim was to determine whether certain vitamin supplements prevented lung and other cancers in a cohort of 29,133 male smokers in the South -Western Finland.
“Lower serum vitamin B12 concentrations at baseline were associated with a 5.8-fold increased risk of gastric cancer. This association persisted in participants who developed cancer more than 10 years after blood sampling, and after limiting the analysis to participants with clinically normal vitamin B12 levels.”
Low serum B12 has been associated with a “five-fold increase” in the risk of gastric cancer.
Medicforum has previously written about beneficial oystva cucumber.