Cancer
Vitamin E cuts breast cancer risk - study
By David Liu, Ph. D.
Nov 17, 2008 - 11:46:40 AM

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Viatmi.n C lowers bloo.d pressur.e

Monday Nov 17, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking vitamin E and vitamin C may not provide any protective effect against prostate cancer, according to a new study scheduled to be presented Sunday at an American Academy of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting in Washington, D.C.

The Physicians' Health Study II, a randomized clinical trial, involved 14, 641 physicians age at least 50 at enrollment.   Participants were given 400 IU of vitamin E or 500 mg of vitamin C or a placebo each day for up to 10 years.

There was no association between vitamin E and risk of prostate cancer, which afflicts about 200,000 men in the United States each year.   Vitamin C was not effective either against total cancer.

But not all studies are so disappointing. Early studies have shown that I.V. injection of high doses of vitamin C actually kills cancer cells while leaving healthy ones intact.   And many studies linked intake of vitamin C and vitamin E rich diet with lower incidence of cancer.

One study published in the Sep 2008 issue of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment suggests that vitamin E and B supplement may actually provide protection against breast cancer among women who had low dietary intake of these vitamins.

The case-control study led by Dorjgochoo T and colleagues from School of Medicine of Vanderbilt University involved 3,454 incident breast cancer cases and 3,474 controls entering the study in Shanghai.  Those who enrolled for the phase I study were at the age of 25 to 64 while those for the phase II study were at the age of 20 to 70.

Overall, there was no association between intake of vitamins A, B, C and E and breast cancer, the researchers reported.  

Nevertheless, among those who had low dietary intake of vitamin E, taking vitamin E supplements was associated with a 20 percent reduction in the risk.

Similarly, taking vitamin B supplements was also linked to a 20 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer among those who had low dietary intake of vitamin B, but the reduction was not statically significant.

However, frequency use of a vitamin B supplement seemed to boost the risk by 40 percent among women who have high dietary intake of vitamin B.

The protective effect of vitamin E and C and others against cancer including prostate cancer is a complicated issue.   More research is certainly needed to prove or disprove previous findings.