Research suggests that micronutrients such as vitamin E, vitamin C, and carotenoids may play a role in preventing cancer development because of their ability to combat free radicals, agents that can damage cellular DNA, lipid membranes, and proteins. In many studies, vitamin E has been associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer, and beta-carotene has been associated with increased lung cancer risk in previous studies. However, no studies have examined associations between intakes of these three antioxidant micronutrients and the risk of prostate cancer.
Richard B. Hayes, Ph.D., at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues assessed the risk of prostate cancer for 29,361 men ages 55 to 74 enrolled in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial, based on their daily intake of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C. The researchers looked at intake of antioxidants from both dietary sources and from supplements.
The authors found that, overall, dietary or supplemental intake of vitamin E, vitamin C, or beta-carotene was not associated with prostate cancer incidence in this group of PLCO trial participants. However, certain micronutrients were associated with prostate cancer risk in specific subgroups of men. For current or recent smokers, high-dose, long-duration vitamin E supplementation was associated with a reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer. For men with a low dietary intake of beta-carotene, high-dose supplements of beta-carotene were associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer.
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Contact: Ariel Whitworth
jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
14-Feb-2006