ABSTRACT
Folic acid is a vitamin which is found most abundantly in green leafy vegetables, liver, navy beans, nuts and whole wheat products. While replacement therapy with folic acid is usually indicated when deficiency is detected, treatment of folic acid deficiency in cancer patients is controversial because of concerns about possible promotion of tumor growth. Subsequent studies in rodents indicated that nutritional deficiency of folic acid retarded the growth of ascitic lymphocytic neoplasms in mice and Walker carcinosarcoma 256 in rats. Tumor cell size increases coincident with the development of folate deficiency. Murine melanoma cells incubated in low-folate medium demonstrated a progressive increase in the number of cells in S phase as folate deficiency developed, when studied by flow cytometry. The onset of folate deficiency in tumor cells is accompanied by changes in the adhesive properties of the cells. The mechanism or mechanisms by which nutritional folate deficiency enhances tumor cell metastatic potential is unclear.
