| First Author | Burns EM | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | PLoS One | Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | e63809 |
| PubMed ID | 23691100 | Mgi Jnum | J:200851 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5509418 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0063809 |
| Citation | Burns EM, et al. (2013) Differential effects of topical vitamin E and C E Ferulic(R) treatments on ultraviolet light B-induced cutaneous tumor development in Skh-1 mice. PLoS One 8(5):e63809 |
| abstractText | Because of the ever-increasing incidence of ultraviolet light B (UVB)-induced skin cancer, considerable attention is being paid to prevention through the use of both sunscreens and after sun treatments, many of which contain antioxidants. Vitamin E is included as an antioxidant in many sunscreens and lotions currently on the market. Studies examining the efficacy of vitamin E as a topical preventative agent for UVB-induced skin cancer have yielded conflicting results. A likely contributor to differences in study outcome is the stability of vitamin E in the particular formulation being tested. In the current study we examined the effects of topical vitamin E alone as well as vitamin E combined with vitamin C and ferulic acid in a more stable topical formula (C E Ferulic(R)). Mice were exposed to UVB for 10 weeks in order to induce skin damage. Then, before the appearance of any cutaneous lesions, mice were treated for 15 weeks with a topical antioxidant, without any further UVB exposure. We found that topical C E Ferulic decreased tumor number and tumor burden and prevented the development of malignant skin tumors in female mice with chronically UVB-damaged skin. In contrast, female mice chronically exposed to UVB and treated topically with vitamin E alone showed a trend towards increased tumor growth rate and exhibited increased levels of overall DNA damage, cutaneous proliferation, and angiogenesis compared to vehicle-treated mice. Thus, we have demonstrated that topical 5% alpha tocopherol may actually promote carcinogenesis when applied on chronically UVB-damaged skin while treating with a more stable antioxidant compound may offer therapeutic benefits. |
