Vitamin A in diet can help fight cancer

London:Intake of vitamin A in diet could help treat several forms of cancer due to its ability to control the malignant cells, a new study has found. Scientists have hailed the discovery as a "new dawn" in cancer treatment after finding a link between malignant cells and lack of vitamin A.      Experts at the University of York found that cancer cells are under control of a derivative of the vitamin, known as retinoic acid, the Daily Express reported.      They believe that vitamin A can be used as new anticancer treatment and advised people to ensure they include adequate levels of the nutrient in their diets.      The study was carried out on prostate cancer cells but professor Norman Maitland of Yorkshire Cancer Research believes the treatment could apply to other cancers as well. Maitland, however, warned people not to rush out to buy vitamin A supplements, which could be toxic and even cancerous in high doses.      Instead he advised people to take vitamin A in their daily diet, including oily fish, carrots, liver, red pepper and dark leafy vegetables.      "We hope vitamin A will be used to prevent prostate cancer and that a derivative of vitamin A could help destroy prostate cancer cells or make them more treatable once they have started to spread," he said.      He said that retinoic acid is already used to treat a blood cancer and has been extremely successful in improving survival rates to 80%. The study is published in the journal 'Nucleic Acids'. PTI  Exposure to Sun  protects from 15  types of cancer      Scientists have discovered that sun exposure may protect against some forms of cancer, despite increasing the risk of skin cancer. In a series of studies, lack of sunlight was linked to 15 types of cancer. In one, researchers assessed cancer cases in 100 countries along with ambient ultraviolet radiation rates. More sunlight was "consistently" tied to reduced rates of many types of cancer including breast, cervical, colon, oesophageal, gastric, lung and two forms of lymphoma, the Daily Express reported. Researchers said vitamin D, produced by sunlight, "may reduce the incidence or improve the outcome of cancer". PTI