Study: Vitamin E May Lower Colorectal Cancer Risk for Men, Not Women

Supplemental vitamin E intake may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in men but there is no evidence that it lowers the risk in women, according to Harvard University researchers.

The researchers conducted a prospective study on the association between supplemental vitamin E and colon cancer in 87,998 females from the Nurses’ Health Study and 47,344 males from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

They reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention that they found "some suggestion that men with supplemental vitamin E intake of 300 IU/day or more may be at lower risk for colon cancer when compared with never users.

"In women, there was no evidence for an inverse association between vitamin E supplementation and risk of colon cancer," the researchers reported.

But they said that while there findings do not provide consistent support for an inverse association between supplemental vitamin E and colon cancer risk, "considering the paucity of epidemiological data on this association, further studies of vitamin E and colon cancer are warranted."

Other Sources: Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention