Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Leukoplakia

Beta-carotene is the most widely used supplement in the treatment of leukoplakia. In a clinical trial of betel nut chewers with leukoplakia, supplementation with 150,000 IU of beta-carotene twice per week for six months significantly increased the remission rate compared with placebo (14.8% vs. 3.0%). The effectiveness of beta-carotene for treating leukoplakia was also confirmed in a double-blind trial that used 100,000 IU per day for six months. In one trial, supplementation with 33, 333 IU of beta-carotene per day, alone or combined with 50 IU ofvitamin E, was reported not to reduce the incidence of leukoplakia. These results have also been observed in smaller trials.

Drug therapy with a synthetic, prescription form of vitamin A (known as Accutane®, isotretinoin, and 13-cis retinoic acid) has been reported to be more effective than treatment with 50,000 IU per day of beta-carotene. However, because of the potential toxicity of the vitamin A-like drug, it may be preferable to treat leukoplakia with beta-carotene, which is much safer.

Before the research on beta-carotene was published, vitamin A was used to treat leukoplakia. One group of researchers reported that vitamin A (28,500 IU per day) was more effective than beta-carotene in treating people with leukoplakia. Another trial found that the combination of 150,000 IU per week of beta-carotene plus 100,000 IU per week of vitamin A led to a significant increase in remission time compared to beta carotene alone in betel nut chewers. Women who are or who could become pregnant should not take 100,000 IU of vitamin A per week without medical supervision...