Stich H F, Rosin M P, Vallejera M O
Lancet. 1984 Jun 2;1(8388):1204-6. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(84)91692-1.
The frequency of micronuclei in cells scraped from inside the human cheek is a measure of chromosome breakage in earlier cell divisions, and it can be increased tenfold by carcinogenic stimuli. Supplementation for 3 months of the diet of 40 rural Filipino betel chewers with sealed capsules of retinol (100 000 IU/week) and beta-carotene (300 000 IU/week) was associated with a threefold decrease (from 4.2% to 1.4%) in the mean proportion of cells with micronuclei. This proportion decreased in 37 of the 40 supplemented subjects and no large increases were seen in any subjects. In 11 unsupplemented betel chewers in a nearby cluster of houses the mean proportion of micronuclei did not change (4.3% before and 4.8% three months later). This suggests the possibility that in this population an increase in the dietary intake of retinol and/or carotene may reduce the incidence of oral cancer, which is an important neoplasm in many parts of Asia.
从人类口腔内侧刮取的细胞中的微核频率，是衡量早期细胞分裂中染色体断裂情况的一个指标，致癌刺激可使其增加到原来的十倍。为40名菲律宾农村嚼槟榔者的饮食补充3个月的视黄醇（100000国际单位/周）和β-胡萝卜素（300000国际单位/周）密封胶囊，结果显示，含有微核的细胞平均比例下降了三分之二（从4.2%降至1.4%）。在40名接受补充剂的受试者中，有37人的这一比例下降，且没有任何受试者出现大幅上升的情况。在附近一群房屋中的11名未接受补充剂的嚼槟榔者中，微核的平均比例没有变化（之前为4.3%，三个月后为4.8%）。这表明，在这个人群中，增加视黄醇和/或胡萝卜素的饮食摄入量可能会降低口腔癌的发病率，而口腔癌在亚洲许多地区都是一种重要的肿瘤。
