Daily
supplements of vitamin E and beta-carotene may reduce the risk of
prostate cancer in smokers, but not non-smokers, reports a new study,
adding more contradictory results to an already confused field. A diet
rich in antioxidants like vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene has been
reported to protect certain sub-populations, particularly smokers,
against prostate cancer, a disease that is becoming more common, with
incidence rates haven risen by almost two per cent over 15 years.
?Vitamin E supplementation in smokers and beta-carotene supplementation
in men with low dietary beta-carotene were associated with reduced risks
of this disease,? wrote lead author Victoria Kirsh from US National
Cancer Institute. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO)
Cancer Screening Trial, published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute (Vol. 98, pp. 245-254), surveyed the diet and supplement use
of 29,361 men with an average age of 63, and with an average follow-up
time of 4.2 years. Dietary information was collected by a
self-administered 137-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) that
assessed the volunteer?s diet over the previous year. However, current
and recent-former smokers taking 400 IU or more vitamin E daily were 71
per cent less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who took no
vitamin E. Differing vitamin C intake, dietary and supplemental, was
reported to have no effect on any of the sub-populations. ?Our cohort
findings do not provide strong support for population-wide
implementation of high-dose antioxidant supplementation for the
prevention of prostate cancer. They do suggest, however, that in certain
population subgroups there was an association between supplement intake
and reduced risks of prostate cancer,? concluded Kirsh. These results
agree with those of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer
Prevention (ATBC) study (1998), which reported that smokers who received
50 micrograms of vitamin E had a lower incidence of prostate cancer
than the non-supplemented group.
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Source: NutraIngredients