REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Vitamins and Minerals and Their Role in Cancer: A Comprehensive Review
Provisionally accepted
Mattia Garutti1
Marco de Scordilli1*
Martina Alberti2,3Roberta Mazzeo1,2Anna Michelotti2,3Sofia Fagioli1
Alessandro Del Conte1
Amanda Casirati4,5
Riccardo Caccialanza5Enrico Bartolini6
Fabio Puglisi1,2- 1Centro di Riferimento Oncologico IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
- 2Universita degli Studi di Udine Dipartimento di Medicina, Udine, Italy
- 3Azienda sanitaria universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
- 4Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
- 5Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
- 6Enrico Bartolini Restaurant, Milano, Italy
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Cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, influenced by genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, including nutrition. This review explores the role of vitamins and minerals in cancer prevention and management, highlighting their critical functions in immune response, DNA synthesis, cellular repair, and antioxidant defense. Vitamins such as A, C, D, E, and the B-complex group, along with minerals like calcium, magnesium, and zinc, are crucial for maintaining health and managing oncologic diseases. Cancer patients are often at risk of micronutrient deficiencies due to disease and treatment-related factors; addressing these deficiencies through dietary This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article interventions or supplementation may enhance immune function, reduce treatment-related side effects, and improve the overall quality of life. In this review, we comprehensively discuss the biology and physiology of vitamins and minerals with a specific focus on cancer, while providing a practical overview of recognizing and managing deficiencies. Furthermore, aligned with the principles of culinary medicine, as a pilot project we have developed a set of recipes for patients and caregivers to manage hypokalemia and hypocalcemia, which are particularly frequent in clinical practice, with the aim to offer useful tools for clinicians and dietitians.
Keywords: oncology, nutrition, Culinary medicine, Vitamins, Minerals, Micronutrients, Cancerprevention, Supplements
Received: 15 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Garutti, de Scordilli, Alberti, Mazzeo, Michelotti, Fagioli, Del Conte, Casirati, Caccialanza, Bartolini and Puglisi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marco de Scordilli
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.