Vitamin E May Prevent Prostate, Bladder Cancer

Vitamin E May Prevent Prostate, Bladder Cancer

ORLANDO, Fla.Vitamin E may help reduce the risk of prostate andbladder cancer, according to research presented March 27 to 31 at the 95thAnnual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR, www.aacr.org).

In the first study, researchers from the National Cancer Institutes (NCI)Nutritional Epidemiology Branch in Bethesda, Md., compared circulating bloodlevels of alpha- and gamma-tocopheroltwo forms of vitamin Ein 100 men withprostate cancer and 200 men without; subjects were between 50 and 69 years ofage and participated in the Alpha- Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer PreventionStudy (ATBC Study). The ATBC Study previously found supplementation with 50 mg/dof alpha-tocopherol for five to eight years reduced the risk of prostate canceramong men by 32 percent, according to the study.

The current studys findings support this theory: Men who were randomizedto receive a vitamin E supplement as part of the ATBC trial and who had thehighest serum levels of vitamin E at the beginning of the study had the lowestrisk of prostate cancer. Researchers noted use of vitamin E supplements was afactor only if subjects had been taking them prior to starting the study; only10 percent of subjects were previously taking vitamin E supplements, leaving theremaining 90 percent of subjects serum vitamin E levels attributableexclusively to dietary intake. Upon completion, alpha-tocopherol was found toreduce the risk of prostate cancer by as much as 53 percent and gamma-tocopherolwas found to reduce the risk by as much as 39 percent.

 The second study, led by researchers from the University of Texas,Houston, indicated consumption of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) may reduce therisk of bladder cancer. Researchers evaluated the association between vitamin E(two R-isomers of alphatocopherol) intake from dietary sources only, from dietand supplements combined, and from dietary gamma-tocopherol in 468 subjects withbladder cancer and 534 healthy controls.

High intake of vitamin E from dietary sources alone was associated with a42-percent reduced risk of bladder cancer, whereas high intake of vitamin E fromdietary sources and supplements combined reduced the risk by 44 percent, saidLadia M. Hernandez, M.S., R.D., L.D., one of the studys researchers.Gamma-tocopherol had no protective effect against bladder cancer, according tothe study; NCI researchers from the prostate cancer study noted even thoughgamma-tocopherol is the most common tocopherol in the U.S. diet,alpha-tocopherol is found in greater concentrations in the blood.