Dietary carotenoids block photocarcinogenic enhancement by benzo (a)pyrene and inhibit its carcinogenesis in the dark.

The carotenoids β-carotene (C) and canthaxanthine (CX), with and without pro-vitamin A activity, respectively, when perorally administered to mice, markedly prevent benzo(a)pyrene photocarcinogenic enhancement (BP-PCE), continue to block such BP-PCE and protect significantly against BP carcinogenesis in mice maintained in the dark. These results appear relevant to both the pathogenesis of chemical carcinogenesis and rational programs of skin cancer prevention in humans.