New York, NY March 19, 1998. A large-scale study conducted by a group of Finnish and American researchers has been cited as possible evidence that older men should begin taking vitamin E daily to prevent prostate cancer. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) cautions against this because of the known risk of bleeding complications due to daily use of vitamin E.
The ATBC Cancer Prevention Study researchers reported that they found a 32-percent reduction in prostate cancer incidence, and a 41-percent reduction in prostate cancer deaths, among their study population randomly assigned to take a daily dose of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E).
ACSH scientists caution that this study was conducted in a very narrow population group, and the results may not apply to the general public. We feel that this study should be regarded as a springboard for other studies, whose goal would be to confirm these results in other populations. The ATBC Study involved only white, male, Finnish smokers; thus, its results are not automatically applicable to the far more diverse American population. Prostate cancer is more common and more lethal in the Black community, and there were no representatives of this group in the published study. We similarly have no information about the response of nonsmokers to daily vitamin E ingestion. Other confounding factors, such as the influence of the Finnish diet, and the effect of differences in screening for prostate cancer, must also be considered when evaluating this study.
Moreover, there was a 50-percent increase in the occurrence of cerebral hemorrhage among those men in the vitamin E group (66 versus 44). Thus, men with any tendency toward abnormal bleeding would be particularly well advised to discuss any plans to take vitamin E with their physicians.
Ruth Kava, Ph.D, R.D., Director of Nutrition at ACSH, states: "I feel that we, as responsible scientists, should lead the way in emphasizing that this is just one study, in a very homogenous group. We should also note that there was a slight increase in the overall mortality in the vitamin E group."
Eminent hematologist Dr. Victor Herbert, Professor of Medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and a long-time member of ACSH's Scientific Advisory Board, reminds us that the effects of vitamin E on nonsmokers may not be the same as the effects on these Finnish smokers. "We hope that a large-scale, follow-up study will be conducted in this country soon," said ACSH's President, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, "and will confirm the startling Finnish results. Until that time, we feel it would be at best premature, and at worst potentially dangerous, for American men to rush into daily vitamin E supplementation. We should recall that the premature enthusiasm for beta-carotene turned out to be unfounded; indeed, it was actually shown to increase the risk of lung cancer."
