Some B Vitamins May Raise Cancer Risk

Taking extra folic acid and vitamin B12 may increase the risk of some cancers, new research suggests. In the United States, folic acid is added to flour to reduce neural tube defects in newborns. Flour is not fortified in Norway, where the study took place. The study included 6,837 people with heart disease. They were randomly assigned to take pills daily for three years. One group got folic acid, B6 and B12. Another group took folic acid and B12 alone. A third group took B6 alone. The fourth group took placebo (fake) pills. Three years after the study ended, people who took folic acid and B12 had higher death rates. Their cancer rate was 10%, compared with 8.4% for those who did not get these two vitamins. Vitamin B6 alone did not affect cancer risk. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it November 18.