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According to a new study of cancer cells from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, iron compounds increase the formation of biomarker for cancer. The compounds- ferric citrate and ferric EDTA are used regularly in dietary supplements and as a food additive respectively.
The researchers studied ferric citrate and ferric EDTA, which have both previously been shown to worsen tumour formation in mice with colon cancer. They looked at the effect of normal supplemental doses of these compounds on two types of cultured human colon cancer cells and measured the effects of ferrous sulphate, another commonly used iron compound. Ferrous sulphate had no effect but ferric citrate and ferric EDTA caused an increase in cellular levels of amphiregulin, a biomarker for cancer even at low doses.
Ferric citrate and ferric EDTA might be carcinogenic because they increase the formation of amphiregulin-cancer marker associated with long-term cancer with poor prognosis, there are many different types of iron supplements. Iron is added to some foods to combat iron deficiency.
Food rich in iron are meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Pregnant women may need additional iron, as well as people who have lost blood or have low haemoglobin levels for other reasons. In patients with kidney disease, high doses of iron may be needed to bind phosphates into the bloodstream.
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