CAROTENOID PIGMENT ADMINISTRATION and DELAY IN DEVELOPMENT OF UV-B-INDUCED TUMORS

—The results of two studies are reported. In the first study, the carotenoid pigments, β-carotene. canthaxanthin and phytoene were administered to mice after one UV-B-induced skin tumor had developed, to see if carotenoid administration would delay the development of subsequent tumors. Canthaxanthin significantly delayed the development of subsequent tumors. In the second study, the same pigments were administered starting 10 weeks before, and for 24 weeks after, exposure to a large single fluence (8 × 10⁴J/m²) of UV-B radiation, to determine the effect of the pigments on tumor development. Phytoene significantly prevented the development of tumors to this fluence of radiation.