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Dietary Intake or Dietary Supplementation of Antioxidant Vitamins Does Not Reduce Risk of Prostate Cancer

	Vitamin E does not reduce the risk of prostate cancer but high-dose supplements may reduce the risk in smokers, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, co-authored by Susan Mayne, professor of epidemiology in the Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology.

Males who consume vitamin E, Beta-carotene, and vitamin C by either dietary intake or supplementation do not lower their risk of prostate cancer, a group of researchers reported in the Journal of National Cancer Institute. The research team was led by former Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) doctoral student Victoria Kirsh, Ph.D., who conducted the research as part of her dissertation and is now a junior scientist at Cancer Care Ontario. The researchers reported that while there was no significant association between the use of antioxidant supplementation and the reduced risk of prostate cancer, there was an association between high-dose supplemental vitamin E intake and a reduced risk of prostate cancer in smokers.

“There has been definite interest in the use of antioxidant micronutrients to help reduce the risk of cancer,” said Kirsh. “In keeping with the results of previous trials, vitamin E supplementation was related to a reduced risk of prostate cancer in smokers, although the reasons for that benefit remain unclear since smoking itself is not strongly related to prostate cancer.”

“The study is unique in that it was carried out in the screening arm of a randomized trial to evaluate Prostate-Specific Antigen test (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) as prostate cancer modalities,” Kirsh stated. This helped to avoid bias that could result from men with healthier diets seeking prostate screening examinations.

Kirsh conducted the study in collaboration with Susan Mayne, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology in the Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at YSPH, and investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of the Yale University – National Cancer Institute Partnership Training Program. The Training Program is the only one of its kind and is designed to support students while they train in modern methodologies for evaluating lifestyle determinants of human cancer risk, with an emphasis on nutritional, environmental, and occupational determinants, including their interactions with genetic factors.

Other researchers include Richard B. Hayes, Ph.D., Nilanjan Chatterjee, Ph.D., Amy F. Subar, Ph.D., L. Beth Dixon, Ph.D., Demetrius Albanes, M.D., Gerald L. Andriole, M.D., Donald A. Urban, M.D., and Ulrike Peters, Ph.D.

Citation: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 98(4): 245-254, 2006.