Vitamin E boosts prostate cancer risk – study

US researchers warned of an alarming link between vitamin E supplements and a 17 per cent increased risk of prostate cancer, describing the findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association as an “importantpublichealthconcern.”

Ten years after the start of a randomized trial of more than 35,000 men, researchers discovered the spike in prostate cancer among those assigned to take vitamin E rather than selenium or a placebo.

Selenium, a trace mineral found in foods like Brazil nuts, tuna and beef, is often deficient in areas such as China and Russia where it is lacking in the soil.

The study was launched based on previous research that had suggested that selenium or vitamin E might reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.

The latest data emerged three years after a preliminary study of the findings, published in 2008, showed a slightly higher but statistically insignificant risk of prostate cancer among those taking vitamin E.

However, since the risk was approaching statistical significance, a safety committee called for a halt to the randomised Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico in 2008.