For Which Cancers Should I Avoid Vitamin B2 Supplement?

Highlights

Nutritional supplements and extracts like Vitamin B2 have benefits and are used by cancer patients and those at-genetic risk of cancer. There is limited or hardly any clinical data available for use of nutritional supplements and foods in cancer patients. Generating clinical evidence of efficacy for cancer through a randomized clinical trial is further infeasible due to variations in genetics and cancer chemotherapy treatments across cancer patients. Hence a different and new approach is needed to find out for which cancers you should not take Vitamin B2 supplement and why should not take them?

Is it okay to take Vitamin B2 extracts or supplements for all cancer indications and any chemotherapy treatment? A common belief but a myth is that everything natural can only be of benefit and do no harm. For example, the use of grapefruit with certain medications is not recommended. Another example is the use of spinach with some blood thinning medications can cause adverse interactions and hence to be avoided. For cancer, nutrition including plant-based foods and supplements can influence outcomes and hence an extremely important decision which needs to be made. Hence NIH-National Cancer Institute has a website for nutrition for cancer care for patients which are generalized recommendations and not personalized for cancer indication and treatments.

A frequently asked question by cancer patients and those at-risk is “What Foods and Nutritional Supplements could be beneficial over others for me?”. “Who should not take an extract or supplement and why?”. Generic guidelines like eating only plant-based-foods or avoiding all sugar or adopting a keto diet is a good start but not actionable and personalized enough.

To find answers to questions on extracts and nutritional supplements and foods requires knowledge of contained active ingredients; genetic mutation prevalence for cancer indication; understanding of underlying cancer biology; chemotherapy treatments and mechanism of actions of active ingredients.

Taking Vitamin B2 extracts or nutritional supplements may benefit Primary Angiocentric Glioma patients on Lomustine treatment over Forsythia nutritional supplements. But Vitamin B2 supplements or Vitamin B2 extracts offer less benefit if on Somatostatin treatment for Primary Myeloid sarcoma compared to Lutein. Similarly, taking nutritional supplements Vitamin B2 may benefit healthy individuals who are at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene BRCA1 over Bitter Melon. But avoid nutritional supplements Vitamin B2 when at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene TET2.

The takeaway being – cancer, genomics, treatments and other personalized factors will influence decision making to questions like: Are extracts or nutritional supplements Vitamin B2 beneficial and should not be taken? Why should Vitamin B2 be not taken? Who should not take Vitamin B2? What are side effects of Vitamin B2 with Somatostatin chemotherapy? What are the benefits of Vitamin B2 for cancer? Can Vitamin B2 help fight cancer and so on.

Whenever there are changes in chemotherapy treatments or cancer tissue genetics – the nutrition may change and hence needs to be re-evaluated. Do consider factors like cancer indication, ongoing chemotherapy treatments and nutritional supplements, age, gender, weight, height, lifestyle and genetics for personalization of nutrition.

Brief Overview

Use of nutritional supplements – vitamins, herbs, minerals, probiotics, and other specialty categories are increasing. Supplements are high concentrations of active ingredients which are also found in different foods. Difference between supplements and foods being that foods contain more than one active ingredient at much lower concentrations. Every active ingredient in an extract or nutritional supplement or food has a unique mechanism of action which can influence nutrition decisions.

These are some example questions which nutrition planning should help answer for you. Should you take supplements Vitamin B2? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene BRCA1? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene TET2? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Myeloid sarcoma? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Angiocentric Glioma? Should you take it when on Lomustine treatment? Should you continue taking it if you change your treatment from Lomustine to Somatostatin? So a general explanation like – it is organic and plant-based or it increases immunity is not sufficient information for making a decision of use of Vitamin B2 extracts and nutritional supplements.

Cancer

Genetic variations across cancer patients can be different and hence no two cancers are alike. The improved availability of “personalized to genetics” chemotherapy treatments and cancer disease monitoring via blood and saliva have been significant factors to improve outcomes. The earlier the lifestyle and treatment intervention – the better the influence on outcome. Genetic testing has the potential to assess cancer risk and susceptibility early. But for at-risk individuals besides regular monitoring in most cases there are no therapeutic treatment intervention options available. After diagnosis with cancer such as Primary Angiocentric Glioma or Primary Myeloid sarcoma, the treatments get personalized to tumor genomics and factors like staging of disease, age and gender. During cancer remission (after treatment cycle is complete) – monitoring is used for assessment of any relapse and accordingly decide on next steps. A large majority of cancer patients and those at-risk may take nutritional supplements like Vitamin B2.

So the question is that are all genetic risks and cancer indications to be considered uniformly when making decisions on the use of Vitamin B2 extracts or nutritional supplements? Are the biochemical pathway implications of genetic risk for cancer due to mutation of gene BRCA1 the same as due to mutation of gene TET2? Are the implications of Primary Angiocentric Glioma the same as Primary Myeloid sarcoma? Is it one and the same if you are on treatment with Somatostatin or Lomustine?

Vitamin B2 – An Extract or Nutritional Supplement

Vitamin B2 supplements contain many active ingredients including Vitamin B2 at different concentration levels. The molecular pathways which are regulated by Vitamin B2 include Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics and Oncogenic Histone Methylation. These biochemical pathways directly or indirectly regulate specific cancer molecular endpoints like growth, spread and death of cancer cells. Because of this biological regulation – for cancer nutrition, the right choice of supplements like Vitamin B2 individually or in combination is an important decision to be made. When making decisions on the use of supplement Vitamin B2 over other nutritional supplements – do consider all these factors.

Who Should not take Vitamin B2 Supplements and Why?

There is no easy way to answer the question “For which cancers should I not chooseVitamin B2 nutritional supplements”. Just like the same chemotherapy treatment does not work across patients, for similar reasons Vitamin B2 in comparison with other nutritional supplements may be beneficial or not. Along with which cancer and associated genetics – the ongoing treatments, lifestyle habits, height, weight and food allergies are all factors in deciding if Vitamin B2 should be avoided or not and why.

1. Will Vitamin B2 Supplements benefit Primary Myeloid sarcoma patients undergoing Somatostatin treatment?

Primary Myeloid sarcoma is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like ARAF, TRIM47 and SF3B1 leading to biochemical pathway changes in Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics, MAPK Signaling, RAS-RAF Signaling and mRNA Splicing. A cancer treatment like Somatostatin works through a specific pathway mechanism of action. The goal is to have a good overlap between the treatment and cancer driving pathways for a personalized approach which is effective. In such a condition any food or nutritional supplement which has a contrary effect to the treatment or reduces the overlap should be avoided. As an example, Vitamin B2 supplement should not be taken for Primary Myeloid sarcoma along with treatment Somatostatin. Vitamin B2 supplement impacts the biochemical pathway called Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics which either promotes drivers of the disease and/or nullifies the treatment effect. Some of the factors which should be considered when choosing nutrition are type of cancer, treatments and supplements being taken currently (if any

2. Will Vitamin B2 Supplements benefit Primary Angiocentric Glioma Patients undergoing Lomustine Treatment?

Primary Angiocentric Glioma is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like KMT2D, KRAS and MEF2B leading to biochemical pathway changes in Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics, Oncogenic Histone Methylation, Amino Acid Metabolism, G-protein-coupled Receptor Signaling and Growth Factor Signaling. A cancer treatment like Lomustine works through specific pathway mechanisms. The goal is to have a good overlap between the treatment and cancer driving pathways for a personalized approach. In such a condition any food or nutritional supplement which supports treatment action or improves the overlap should be considered. As an example, Vitamin B2 supplements should be considered for Primary Angiocentric Glioma along with the treatment Lomustine. Vitamin B2 supplement impacts pathways/processes like Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics which either obstruct drivers of Primary Angiocentric Glioma and/or improve Lomustine treatment effect.

3. What about Vitamin B2 Supplements for Healthy Individuals with TET2 Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

Different companies offer panels of genes to be tested for assessing genetic risk to different cancers. These panels cover genes associated with cancers of the breast, ovary, uterus, prostate, and gastrointestinal system and others. Genetic testing of these genes may confirm a diagnosis and help guide treatment and management decisions. Identification of a disease-causing variant may also guide testing and diagnosis of at-risk relatives. TET2 is one of the genes generally available in panels for cancer risk testing.

TET2 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Vitamin B2 should not be taken when the genetic panel identifies mutation of TET2 for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia. Vitamin B2 impacts pathways/processes like Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics and creates adverse conditions with TET2.

4. What about Vitamin B2 Supplements for Healthy Individuals with BRCA1 Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

BRCA1 is one of the genes available in panels for cancer risk testing. BRCA1 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like Oncogenic Histone Methylation and DNA Repair to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Vitamin B2 supplements may be considered when the genetic panel identifies mutations in BRCA1 for Ovarian Cancer. Vitamin B2 impacts pathways/processes like Oncogenic Histone Methylation and creates a canceling effect in those individuals with BRCA1 mutation.

* Other Factors are also included like BMI, Treatments, Lifestyle Habits

In Conclusion

It is important to remember that cancer chemotherapy treatments and nutrition are never the same for everyone. Food and nutritional supplements like Vitamin B2 are chosen by you and can influence outcomes.

“What should I eat?” is a commonly asked question by cancer patients and those at-risk. The answer to this question depends on cancer indication, underlying genetics, current chemotherapy treatments, food allergies, lifestyle information, and food preferences.

The addon.life approach to nutrition personalization uses knowledge of active ingredients contained in foods and nutritional supplements, cancer biology, chemotherapy treatment action and genetic mutation prevalence across cancer indications. addon.life team of clinicians, clinical scientists and engineers are experts in cancer biology focusing only on nutrition personalization for cancer patients and those at-risk.

What food you eat and which supplements you take is a decision you make. Your decision should include consideration of the cancer gene mutations, which cancer, ongoing treatments and supplements, any allergies, lifestyle information, weight, height and habits.

The nutrition planning for cancer from addon is not based on internet searches. It automates the decision making for you based on molecular science implemented by our scientists and software engineers. Irrespective of whether you care to understand the underlying biochemical molecular pathways or not - for nutrition planning for cancer that understanding is needed.

Get started NOW with your nutrition planning by answering questions on the name of cancer, genetic mutations, ongoing treatments and supplements, any allergies, habits, lifestyle, age group and gender.

References

• Methyl Donor Micronutrients that Modify DNA Methylation and Cancer Outcome.
• IDH1/2 mutation is a prognostic marker for survival and predicts response to chemotherapy for grade II gliomas concomitantly treated with radiation therapy.
• Low activity of LSD1 elicits a pro-inflammatory gene expression profile in riboflavin-deficient human T Lymphoma Jurkat cells.
• cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
• cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
• Genomic Classification and Prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
• Aberrant methylation inactivates somatostatin and somatostatin receptor type 1 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
• Cancer therapy shapes the fitness landscape of clonal hematopoiesis.