Table 4.

Micro-nutrient deficits linked with a variety of cancers.

Type of cancer	Micro-nutrients	Outcome	References
Breast cancer	Vitamin D3	In breast cancer patients, vitamin D insufficiency is a typical occurrence.	(151)
	Selenium	In 2014, a meta-analysis identified a link between selenium blood levels and the risk of breast cancer.	(152)
	Folate, zinc, beta-carotene	In a 2014 investigation, many genetic abnormalities and/or deficits in folate, zinc, and beta-carotene were linked to triple-negative breast cancer development, especially when they were identified together.	(153)
	Iodine	Iodine is a mineral found in the thyroid and breast tissue that aids in preventing breast cancer. Low iodine levels may be considered a risk factor for breast cancer due to the high prevalence of hypothyroidism in breast cancer patients.	(154)
Prostate cancer	Zinc	A study of Nigerian prostate cancer patients identified a relationship between zinc deficit and prostate cancer and selenium and vitamin E deficiency.	(155)
	Vitamin E and trace minerals	As previously indicated, a study on Nigerian males with prostate cancer was undertaken. According to this study, prostate cancer patients exhibited significantly decreased levels of whole blood superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin E, serum selenium, and zinc. AS A RESULT, Vitamin E, zinc, and selenium deficiency may be risk factors for prostate cancer.	(155)
	Selenium	Increased plasma/serum selenium levels (170 ng/mL) were found to lessen the incidence of prostate cancer in a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of selenium and prostate cancer.	(156)
	Vitamin D3	Vitamin D3 25(OH) D concentrations were inversely correlated with prostate cancer risk but not vitamin D–related polymorphisms or parathyroid hormone. This suggests a relationship between low vitamin D3 blood pathology and a higher risk of prostate cancer.	(157)
Colon cancer	Folic acid	In colorectal cancer treatment, folic acid is a contentious vitamin. Even though high folate levels have been linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer, too much folate can stimulate cancer growth.	(158)
	Selenium	In animal studies, selenium deficiency has been shown to aggravate colitis and speed tumor formation and progression in inflammatory carcinogenesis.	(159)
	Vitamin D	Many colorectal cancer patients have vitamin D3 insufficiency and deficiency.	(160)
	Fiber, low fruit and vegetable, high red and processed meat intake	Even if not a single nutrient, it has long been known that a diet poor in fruits and vegetables, fiber, and red and processed meat intake is related to the development of colorectal cancer.	(161)
Lung cancer	Selenium	Several epidemiological studies have found that persons with low selenium levels in their blood had a higher risk of lung cancer, albeit the findings are contradictory. Research done in the southeast United States showed that lower-income and black Americans were more likely to get lung cancer.	(162)
	Vitamin A	Cigarette smoking has been linked to the development of lung cancer. Cigarette smoking has been shown to lower retinoic acid levels in the lungs of rats and increase the growth of precancerous and cancerous tumors.	(163)
	Vitamin D3	Vitamin D3 deficiency is common in lung cancer patients, ranging from mild to severe.	(160)
	Zinc	Human investigations on zinc deficiency and lung cancer are few and far between. Zinc deficiency has been demonstrated to cause DNA instability and undermine its integrity in cell culture studies on human lung fibroblasts, suggesting that it may have a role in preventing DNA damage and cancer.	(164)