Selenium and Vitamins C and E fail to prevent cancer in two large studies
The popular dietary supplements selenium and vitamins C and E failed to prevent prostate and other cancers in two large trials published online today by JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In one study, more than 35,500 older men were randomly assigned to four groups. One group took selenium, one vitamin E, one selenium plus vitamin E, and one a placebo.
The study, called SELECT (Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer prevention Trial), was stopped after seven years, when researchers could find no statistically significant differences in the rates of prostate cancer between the four groups of men or in the rates cancer deaths overall, including lung and colorectal cancer deaths.
Nor was there evidence that the supplements reduced the risk of cardiovascular deaths or death for any reason.
Researchers from Seattle’s Swedish Cancer Institute, the University of Washington and the Seattle-based Southwest Oncology Group Statistical Center participated in the trial, the largest cancer prevention trial ever conducted.
A second study by researchers in Boston, called the Physicians’ Health Study II, was designed to see whether vitamin E or vitamin C reduced the risk of prostate cancer and cancer in general.
More than 14,600 male physicians, who started the study at age 50 years or older, participated in the study. These men were randomly assigned to take either vitamin C, vitamin E, a daily multivitamin or a placebo.
After following the men for an average of eight years, the researchers found that men taking vitamin E and vitamin C were just as likely to develop prostate cancer as men taking the placebo.
The two vitamins also failed to reduce the risk of developing other cancers, including colorectal, lung, bladder, and pancreatic cancer, as well as lymphoma and leukemia.
Nor did the vitamins appear to reduce the risk of death for any cause.
The researchers conclude that their results “provide no support for the use of these supplements for the prevention of cancer in middle-aged or older men.”
The study of the multivitamin group is still underway.
To learn more:
- Read the two papers available on the JAMA website.
- Visit the Physicians’ Health Study II website.
- Visit the SELECT study website.
- Visit the National Library of Medicine’s Drug, Supplements & Herbal Information page, where you can look up information about individual drugs, supplements and herbal products from an alphabetical listing.
- See LocalHealthGuide’s article on an earlier report from Physicians’ Health Study II on vitamin C and E for the prevention of heart disease and stroke.
Category: Alternative Medicine, Cancer, Diet & Nutrition, Prevention, Prostate Cancer, Vitamins & Supplements
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