"Association of vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and methionine with risk of breast cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis,"
Wu W, Kang S, et al, Br J Cancer, 2013 Aug 1; [Epub ahead of print].
In a dose-response meta-analysis of studies evaluating the associations between vitamin B6, vitamin B12, methionine and risk of breast cancer, the authors found a lower combined relative risk of breast cancer for the highest versus the lowest category of serum pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP, the active form of vitamin B6) was 0.80 and for dietary methionine intake was 0.94, with significant associations found in post-menopausal but not pre-menopausal women. Inverse associations were found between breast cancer risk and dietary vitamin B6 intake, dietary vitamin B12 intake and serum vitamin B12 levels, but they were not significant. Every 1 g per day incremental increase in dietary methionine levels was associated with a 4% reduction in breast cancer risk, and every 100 pmol ml-1 incremental increase in PLP levels was associated with a 23% decrease in risk of breast cancer. The authors conclude, "Serum PLP levels and methionine intake might be inversely associated with breast cancer risk, especially among postmenopausal women, which need to be confirmed."