MEMORANDUM FOR: Science Writers and Editors on the Journal Press List: Vitamin A and N-Acetylcysteine of No Benefit in Patients With Lung, Head, or Neck Cancer

Extract

June 15, 2000 (EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE 4 P.M. EST June 20)

A large study of patients with lung cancer or cancer of the head and neck found no benefit from long-term administration of vitamin A, the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine, or both compounds together.

These results are reported by Nico van Zandwijk, M.D., Ph.D., The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, and colleagues, for the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Head and Neck and Lung Cancer Cooperative Groups. Their summary appears in the June 21 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

There is a strong link between tobacco smoking and the types of cancers studied. While smoking prevention and cessation programs have cut the toll appreciably, prevention of cancer by chemical means is also a possibility. Retinoids such as vitamin A are known to inhibit malignant transformation and suppress tumor promotion, particularly in the presence of carcinogens from tobacco smoke. Also, N-acetylcysteine is active in combating the oxidative free radicals present in tobacco smoke. Therefore, this large-scale study, the European Study on Chemoprevention With Vitamin A and N-Acetylcysteine (EUROSCAN), was initiated.