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Gene & Protein in Disease Natural carotenoids prevent prostate cancer

Carotenoid activity may also vary based on dietary habits, Conflict of interest
alcohol consumption, smoking, age, as well as lifestyle,
menopausal, and social status. On the other hand, The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
β-carotene consumption in combination with tobacco Authors contributions
smoke has been found to exacerbate DNA oxidative
damage through inflammatory cytokine production. 122,123 Conceptualization: Maria Vasileiou
Therefore, the administration of heterogeneous carotenoid Visualization: Maria Vasileiou
mixture and interindividual variations play a key role in Writing – original draft: All authors
assessing the potential of carotenoids as chemopreventive Writing – review & editing: All authors
agents.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Regarding potential hepatotoxicity, carotenoids do not
accumulate in the liver but instead integrate into very- Not applicable.
LDL particles, which are subsequently converted to LDL. Consent for publication
Carotenoids tend to accumulate in adipose tissue without
any reported adverse events. 124,125 However, it is important Not applicable.
to note that carotenoids are susceptible to degradation,
which is triggered by UV radiation, heat, pO , tobacco Availability of data
2
smoke, etc. This degradation leads to the production of Not applicable.
carotenoid breakdown products, which include highly
reactive aldehydes and epoxides. These compounds are References
produced under conditions of high oxidative stress and 1. Sekhoacha M, Riet K, Motloung P, Gumenku L, Adegoke A,
are accountable for mitochondrial toxicity. To address Mashele S. Prostate cancer review: Genetics, diagnosis,
this issue, additional antioxidants such as α-tocopherol, treatment options, and alternative approaches. Molecules.
ascorbic acid, and N-acetyl-cysteine can be beneficial. 2022;27(17):5730.
These antioxidants create mild oxidative stress conditions, doi: 10.3390/molecules27175730
thereby inhibiting the prooxidant effects and enhancing
the antioxidant properties of carotenoids. 126 2. Tang DG. Understanding and targeting prostate cancer cell
heterogeneity and plasticity. Semin Cancer Biol. 2022;82:68-93.
5. Conclusion doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.11.001
It is evident that the chemopreventive effect of carotenoids 3. Testa U, Castelli G, Pelosi E. Cellular and molecular
depends on a wide range of factors beyond their chemical mechanisms underlying prostate cancer development:
structure. This review of the current literature suggests Therapeutic implications. Medicines (Basel). 2019;6(3):82.
that further human-centered studies are necessary to doi: 10.3390/medicines6030082
fully uncover the potential of carotenoids. These studies 4. Losquadro WD. Anatomy of the skin and the pathogenesis
should aim to determine their effective dose and assess of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Facial Plast Surg Clin North
their clinical value. In addition, research should not only Am. 2017;25(3):283-289.
focus on specific compounds but also investigate their
synergistic effects and metabolites. Despite their potential doi: 10.1016/j.fsc.2017.03.001
mitochondrial toxicity, there have been no reports of severe 5. Wang G, Zhao D, Spring DJ, DePinho RA.
carotenoid-related toxicity to date, with the exception Genetics and biology of prostate cancer. Genes Dev.
of high oxidative stress conditions. Nevertheless, the 2018;32(17-18):1105-1140.
prooxidant role of carotenoids and their associated adverse doi: 10.1101/gad.315739.118
events remains to be investigated.
6. Pernar CH, Ebot EM, Wilson KM, Mucci LA. The
Acknowledgments epidemiology of prostate cancer. Cold Spring Harbor Perspect
Med. 2018;8(12):a030361.
Figure 1 was created using ACD/ChemSketch, doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a030361
version 2021.2.0 (Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc.,
Canada; www.acdlabs.com, 2022). 7. Xiao Y, Yu D. Tumor microenvironment as a therapeutic
target in cancer. Pharmacol Ther. 2020;221:107753.
Funding doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107753
None. 8. Ralat LA, Manevich Y, Fisher AB, Colman RF. Direct

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