Folic acid food fortification is associated with a decline in Essay

Folic acid food fortification is associated with a decline in neuroblastoma - Essay Example Neuroblastoma is one of the most common cancers affecting children today, forming 8%-10% of the total seen from birth through age 14 years.   It affects one in every 6,000 to 7,000 children in North America (Nutra ingredients.com, 2003). It is a disease in which cancer cells are found in certain nerve cells within the body. Neuroblastoma typically begins in the abdominal area either in the adrenal gland (located just above the kidney) or around the spinal cord in the neck, chest, or pelvis (Pressinger & Sinclair, N.D.). Studies show that folic acid food fortification has more than halved the incidence in Canada of the deadly childhood cancer neuroblastoma. Chemically Folic acid has the molecular formula C19H19N7O6 with a molecular weight of 441.40. The scientific name of folic acid is N-[p-[2-Amino-4-hydroxy-6-pteridinyl) methyl] amino] benzoyl]-L-glutamic acid. It is a complex organic compound present in liver, yeast, and natural sources; it also may be prepared synthetically (RxList, 2004). Metabolically, folic acid is converted to coenzyme forms required in numerous one-carbon transfer reactions involved in the synthesis, interconversion and modification of nucleotides, amino acids and other essential structural and regulatory compounds (Bailey, et al, 2003). As an essential cofactor for the de novo biosynthesis of purines and thymidylate, folate plays an important role in DNA synthesis, stability and integrity, and repair, aberrations of which have been implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis. Folate may also modulate DNA methylation, which is an important epigenetic determinant in gene expression, maintenance of DNA integrity and stability, chromosomal modifications, and the development of mutations. (Kim, 2004). Daily ingestion of 400  µg of folic acid alone during the preconception period reduced a womans risk of having a fetus or infant with a neural-tube defect. The