Another mechanism by which carotenoids may help to reduce
the risk of certain cancers is by participating in gap junctional
communication. This allows for cell-to-cell communication,
which, when functioning properly, helps to inhibit the
growth of altered cells (Stahl et al., 1997) that might otherwise
generate tumors. Gap junctional communication has been found
to be stimulated by beta-carotene (Stahl et al., 1997) and has
also been proposed as a mechanism of action for lycopene