Vitamin A Status of Patients with Breast Cancer Attending University College Hospital, Ibadan

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the vitamin A status of newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Subjects/Methods: The vitamin A status of thirty newly diagnosed female patients with breast cancer was assessed through the use of food frequency questionnaire. Their serum retinol levels were also determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science to determine mean with their standard deviations, frequencies and percentages. Chi square was used to test for association between variables and a probability of p< 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A high percentage of the patients do not consume good sources of vitamin A such as liver, egg, and milk frequently. The pro vitamin A sources in their diet were red palm oil, fruits, yellow and dark green vegetables. However, fruits and vegetable were not consumed regularly by most of the patients. A very low percentage (16.7%) of the patients had normal level of serum retinol while a high percentage (63.3%) had low level and 20% had deficient level of serum retinol. The mean serum retinol level (4.34±6.31μg/dl) was significantly lower in postmenopausal patients than in the premenopausal patients (8.56±10.10μg/dl)