Abstract

To explore the relationships between carotenoids, a-tocopherol and gastric cancer we determined the concentration of B-carotene, lycopene, and a-tocopherol in mucosa from gastric cancer patients and control subjects with mild gastritis. The concentrations of B-carotene in both cancerous and non-cancerous gastric mucosa from cancer patients(242.5 ng/g, 197.6 ng/g) were significantly lower than those of control subiects(355.0 nR/ R). Lycopene concentrations in both cancerous and non-cancerous gastric mucosa from cancer patients(92.8 ng/g, 64.3 ng/g) were also significantly lower than those of control(162.6 ng/g). The a-to- copherol concentrations of cancerous(12.4ug/g) and non-cancerous mucosa(16.9ug/g) were lower than those of control(18.5 ug/g) but, the difference was not significant. Carotenoids and a-tocopherol were almost mually distributed in gastric mucosa. The concentrations of otene, 1ycopene, and a-tacopherol in gastric mucosa of females were higher than those of males for both cancer and control groups. The concentration of B-carotene decreased gradually with advancing age. Thus, B-carotene and lycopene might be protective against gastric cancer.

• Keywords: B-bcarotene, Lycopene, a-tocopherol, Gastric cancer