I didn't write it, and you don't have to like it. I hope you didn't hurt yourself taking all that retinol. I'm not smart enough to understand all this, but maybe you or Trapper can:
Cancer and Vitamin A
Vitamin A intake has a complex relationship with cancer prevention: while small doses of vitamin A or beta-carotene appear to help prevent cancer, higher doses seem to have the reverse effect. The anti-cancer effects of beta-carotene appear to stem from its anti-oxidative ability to scavenge for reactive oxygen species, as well as through its conversion to vitamin A, which can improve immune function in addition to eliciting an anti-proliferative effect through the RAR and RXR receptors, thereby acting to block certain carcinogenic processes and inhibit tumour cell growth. However, an excessive intake of beta-carotene appears to have carcinogen effects, possibly through its promotion of the eccentric (or asymmetric) pathway of beta-carotene cleavage, which produces breakdown products that might lead to the destruction of retinoic acid through the activation of the P450 enzyme, which in turn could decrease retinoid signalling leading to enhanced cell proliferation. Therefore dosage seems to be an important factor in beta-carotene action.