The Effect of Vitamin B12 on Breast Tumor Innervation

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, and treatment can cause vitamin B12 deficiency that prompts supplementation. Given that B12 has been shown to promote neurite outgrowth in neuropathy, this study aims to investigate the relationship between B12 and breast cancer, as well as potential implications in cancer-nerve crosstalk. Nerve growth factor is a key neurotrophin implicated in cancer-nerve crosstalk, and its receptor presence has been shown to be overexpressed in breast cancer, potentially contributing to tumor innervation. Using a decellularized adipose-collagen composite hydrogel, breast cancer cells were cultured three- dimensionally and treated with varying dosages of B12 before testing to determine cell viability, nerve growth factor secretion, and nerve growth factor receptor presence. This study found that increased B12 concentration improved cell viability at 2 nM compared to 0 nM or greater than 10 nM. It also found that B12 concentration did not affect nerve growth factor secretion, and receptor presence data were deemed inconclusive. The data for nerve growth factor receptor presence was deemed inconclusive and should be a key focus for future studies, along with testing to determine the effect of B12 concentration on neurite outgrowth. Overall, these findings suggest that vitamin B12 could be positively associated with breast cancer cell viability up to a certain concentration but appears to have no effect on nerve growth factor secretion.