• 9/7/2006
  • Iowa City, IA
  • staff
  • CancerConsultants.com

Researchers in Canada have reported that the administration of 400 IU/day of vitamin E (alfa-tocopherol) is associated with a 38% increased rate of mortality in patients with head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy. The details of this report appeared in the November 2006 issue of the International Journal of Cancer .

There has been concern about patients taking anti-oxidant vitamins while receiving treatment for cancer. These concerns have been justified by the increased death rate in patients with lung cancer taking beta carotene. More recently researchers have reported that high doses of daily vitamin E appear to be associated with higher risks of mortality in persons with chronic diseases.

The current trial originally randomly allocated 540 patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiation therapy to receive placebo or alfa tocopherol and beta carotene during treatment and for the following 3 years. Beta carotene was dropped from the study during the trial because of adverse reports in other studies. The median follow-up of this trial was 6.5 years at which time the group receiving alfa tocopheral had a 38% increased risk of dying compared to the control group.

Comments:
This study should caution individuals about taking high doses of vitamin E and other antioxidant vitamins during cancer treatment in hopes of a health benefit. This should also encourage individuals to get needed vitamins from fruit and vegetable sources rather than from medicinal sources.

Reference:
Bairati I, Meyer F, Jobin E, et al. Antioxidant vitamin supplementation and mortality: A randomized trial in head and neck cancer patients. International Journal of Clinical Oncology . 2006;119:2221-2224.