Dixit, Tanu, Kritika Zutshi, Angeline Jeyakumar, and Selvan Ravindran. 2025, Dietary Minerals for Cancer: Public Health Implications., Handbook of Public Health Nutrition: International, National, and Regional Perspectives, pp. 1-17. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Human nutrition requires at least 49 nutrients to support metabolic functions, with 23 of these being dietary mineral elements crucial for maintaining physiological and biochemical processes. However, disproportions of these micronutrients also lead to various health issues, affecting multiple body systems, and have also been linked to the development and progression of cancer. Cancer remains a serious global health concern with increasing incidence, especially in aging populations. Given the multifactorial nature of cancer, research has crescively focused on identifying possible diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic markers including dietary components for cancer therapy. Studies have explored the role of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, C, D, and E, zinc, selenium, sodium, etc. in the prevention and treatment of various types of cancer. The antioxidant properties exhibited by these micronutrients influence the molecular pathways involved in the growth, progression, and apoptosis of cancer cells. However, there is still conflicting epidemiological data about the preventive effects of these micronutrients. Some studies did not find significant protective associations for dietary intake of these nutrients, but others have found an inverse relationship between vitamin A, C, and E intake and postmenopausal breast cancer. Hence, more investigation is required to understand the functions of these micronutrients to offer evidence-based recommendations for their applications. This chapter summarizes the role of these important dietary minerals in prevention and treatment, focusing on mechanisms, epidemiological evidence, dietary sources, and risks of both deficiencies and excess intake concerning cancer.

 

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