Breaking News: Vitamins may help prevent cervical cancer

A study led by researchers from Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea suggests that dietary supplements may be taken to reduce risk of cervical cancer.

To be specific, the study found that taking vitamin supplements reduced risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cervical dysplasia, which has a small chance of becoming cervical cancer.

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is caused by chronic infection of the cervix with the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), especially the high-risk HPV types 16 or 18, according to wiki-pedia.

In the study, Hwang J.H. et al. examined the effects of dietary supplements on high-risk human papillomavirus or HPV infection and cervical carcinogenesis.

The researchers surveyed 1096 women aged 18 to 65 who participated in an HPV cohort study from March 2006 to present and identified 328 women with HPV, 166 as controls, 90 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 1) and 72 with CIN II and III for an analysis.

Information on dietary supplementation including five categories multivitamins, multinutrients, vitamin c, calcium, and miscellaneous, was obtained for the year prior to being enrolled in the study.

Hwang et al. reported in International Journal of Gynecological Cancer that a higher viral load was associated with more advanced cervical dysplasia, which makes sense as more viruses lead to more damage.

Those who took multivitamins, vitamin A, C, E abd calcium were found about 80 percent less likely to develop CIN II and III.

Patients who took multivitamins and had a lower HPV viral load were about 75% less likely to suffer CIN I and 89% less likely to develop cervical dysplasia.

Early studies have suggested taking vitamin c and folate may help prevent HPV.

Cervical cancer, which is caused by HPV,  is diagnosed in 11,000 women each year in the United States and the disease kills about 4,000 women annually in the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.

An early-stage cervical cancer often does not cause any symptoms.  Symptoms of the disease include abnormal vaginal bleeding, bleeding between regular menstrual periods, bleeding after sex, douching, or a pelvic exam, longer or heavier menstrual periods; bleeding after going through menopause; increased vaginal discharge, pelvic pain and pain during intercourse.

Cervical cancer treatments are surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

The disease is considered rare.  Cervical cancer vaccine is now available, but there is some debate over the vaccination due to a number of issues like the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the drug.

This study suggests that health supplements may help prevent HPV and cervical cancer. But no drug companies or the federal government are expected to sponsor any trials, a health observer suggested.