Recent research contradicts the established notion that folic acid, vitamins B6, B12 can prevent cancer in women.

Researchers found no significant role of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 play in preventing cancer in women at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Researchers studied data collected from 5,442 female health professionals aged 42 years or older at high risk of cardiovascular disease. During the study period, half the participants were randomly assigned to receive a daily combination of folic acid (2.5 milligrams), vitamin B6 (50 mg) and vitamin B12 (1.0 mg), while the rest were administered a placebo. Study subjects received the supplements for 7.3 years, starting from April 1998 and ending in July 2005.

During study, 379 women developed invasive cancer with 187 women coming from the treatment group and 70 women coming from the placebo group. Among the women who developed cancer, 154 had breast cancer with 70 coming from the treatment group and 84 coming from the placebo group.

Dr. Shumin Zhang, associate professor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, lead researcher said that "in women at risk of cardiovascular disease, we found that folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 had no beneficial or harmful effects on the risk of invasive cancer or breast cancer."

The study also showed that a decrease in the risk for breast cancer and other invasive cancers for women over the age of 65.