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Phytoestrogens may protect against
endometrial cancer
Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute
2003; 95: 1158-64
Dietary phytoestrogen intake may have a small
but significant effect on women's risk of endometrial cancer.
Certain dietary phytoestrogens may protect
against endometrial cancer, US study findings suggest. Dr. Pamela
Horn-Ross (Northern California Cancer Center, Union City, USA) and
colleagues note that phytoestrogens (i.e., weak estrogens found
in plant foods) may have antiestrogenic effects."
Postulating that these compounds could, therefore,
reduce the risk of endometrial cancer, the researchers collected
dietary information from 500 African-American, Latina, and white
women aged 35-79 years who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer
between 1996 and 1999. In addition, 470 healthy women of similar
age and ethnicity were assessed. The subsequent analysis particularly
focused on dietary consumption of three classes of phytoestrogens:
isoflavones, coumestans and lignans.
The results showed that women who consumed
the highest levels of isoflavones and lignans had a significantly
lower risk of endometrial cancer than those with the lowest consumption,
and this association was strongest in postmenopausal women. Obese
women with low phytoestrogen consumption had the highest risk of
endometrial cancer.
"Some phytoestrogenic compounds, at the levels consumed in
the typical American-style diet, are associated with reduced risk
of endometrial cancer," the researchers conclude.
Posted: 11 August 2003
Vitamin C supplements beneficial during
IVF treatment
Source:
Central European Journal of Public Health 2003; 11: 63-7
Investigating the impact of vitamin C
supplementation on IVF outcomes.
Vitamin C supplementation may have a direct,
favorable influence on IVF outcomes, but this beneficial effect
appears to be attenuated by smoking, say researchers.
Prof. Igor Crha and colleagues from Masaryk
University in Brno, Czech Republic, studied the influence of vitamin
C on infertility treatment in 76 women undergoing IVF embryo transfer
cycles. Thirty-eight women were assigned to receive vitamin C (ascorbic
acid) in a daily oral dose of 500 mg, while the control group received
no supplements. In each group, half of the women were smokers, and
half non-smokers. Urinary and follicular fluid levels of ascorbic
acid were measured at baseline, and at the time of oocyte retrieval.
After treatment, ascorbic acid levels in
the follicular fluid were significantly higher in women who had
received vitamin C supplements than in those who had not, indicating
a local effect on the ovaries. In addition, the pregnancy rate was
significantly higher in the vitamin C group than the controls (34
percent versus 24 percent). However, this effect was significantly
more pronounced in non-smokers than smokers
The findings support the benefits of vitamin
C supplementation during IVF treatment, but the negative effect
of smoking may be "a reason for asking women to cease smoking
prior to infertility treatment," say the researchers.
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