Hi,
You'll notice in the news section of the forum that there are two articles posted today which talk about a recently completed study that claims that taking vitamin E in large daily doses (greater than 20 International Unites - IUs - per day) is actually unhelpful in preventing cariovascular disease and cancer, and slightly increases mortality rates.

Critics of the study say that it is flawed and that combining the data from a number of different studies is unreliable, and extrapolating from a population that is more likely to be sick than a normal population also skews the data against a postive study outcome. Nonetheless, I'm wondering what you think about the study and whether or not it will change your Vitamin E consumption, if you take it.

I know that Brian in the other chemoprevention thread said that he was taking Vitamin E in part because it enhanced the absorption of selenium, a mineral, I think, which may have some chemopreventive properties.

I've been taking 600 IUs daily and can't decide whether or not to stop. According to the study, the benefits are nil and the downside risks quite small. Any ideas? Thanks, Sheldon

Sheldon,

I've had the same questions as you after reading the articles from the past couple of days. I've been taking 400 IU's daily, plus a Centrum, which contains another 45. I was planning to call my oncologist to see what he thinks about this study.

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

I went see my oncologist at Mass General and he was pretty sceptical about the benefits of vitamin E even before the study came out. He said there was simply a lack of data on which to make a judgment.

Now that this study is out, it makes the decision even more difficult. Particularly since some docs have criticized the methodology of the study and thus its findings. Please let us know what your oncologist suggests. Best, Sheldon

I find most docs are skeptical of any additional vitamins because there have been no accepted scientific studies that prove or disprove them. Most doctors go with only proven scientific studies to recomend something. Short term during chemo it can't hurt. Long term the recent studies are questionable but again are they totally proven scientific studies??

I am currently part of a phase III post-treatment chemo-prevention study at M. D. Anderson that includes acutane, interferon and vitamin E. I'm one of the controls, so I don't get the meds. But I wanted to post this because I wanted you guys to know that vitamin E is in fact being studied in a clinical setting as a co-agent in chemo-prevention regimen.

Incidentally, in my research into this stuff I have found a favorable possibility that vitamins may be helpful in a preventative mode. However, once you have active disease there appears to be no benefit. I use words like favorable possibility and appears, because there's not a whole lot of proven definative stuff out there. My gut feeling is that mega-dosing is not a good idea whether you're healthy or sick and that any benefit obtained from supplements is very modest. I have reduced my own supplement intake to a multi-vitamin containing 100% of the RDA with an extra 500mg of vitamin C once a day.

-Brett

Hey Brett, My husband is (or was) in the same clinical trial at MD Anderson. He was in the control group also. They only followed him for a year after entering the trial and now he will only see clinical trial nurse if something comes up. He got in the trial in 2001.