Folic acid may help prevent certain throat cancers

NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) Italian researchers report ''encouraging'' results from a study in which folic acid supplements were given as a treatment for laryngeal leucoplakia, which may progress to cancer.

The larynx, also called the ''voice box,'' is part of the respiratory system and is the organ responsible for voice production. Leucoplakia appears as white patches in the mucus membranes of the mouth or throat, and may contain precancerous cells.

Thirty-one out of 43 patients with laryngeal leucoplakia had a 50 per cent or greater reduction in patch size after 6 months of folic acid treatment, consisting of 5 milligrams every 8 hours, the team reports in the medical journal Cancer.

All of the subjects underwent examinations of the larynx every 30 days. Of the 31 patients who responded to treatment, 19 had a partial response and 12 had a complete response, with no evidence of the original white patches after 6 months of folic acid therapy.

Twelve patients had no response.

In previous studies, patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer or laryngeal leucoplakia have had lower than normal levels of folate in the blood, study leader Dr Giovanni Almadori from Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Policlinico A Gemelli in Rome noted in comments to Reuters Health.

With folic acid supplementation, they observed a significant increase in blood levels of folate. No moderate or severe adverse events were reported.

The current results support the hypothesis that a low folate level is a long-acting risk factor that increases the risk of progression to laryngeal cancer, particularly when combined with exposure to environmental carcinogens, Almadori said.

Folate supplementation, alone or in combination with other agents, may reduce the risk of progression patients with altered mucus membranes, especially in those with low folate levels, the investigators suggest in their report.

Plans are underway for a larger trial to evaluate the effectiveness of folic acid supplements as follow-up treatment after surgical removal of laryngeal leucoplakia to prevent the development of head and neck cancer.

Laryngeal leucoplakia also has a ''tendency to recur,'' note the authors, often in a more advanced form that has a greater chance of progressing to cancer.

REUTERS KD PM0946