Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 31, 2006|Volume 34, Number 24

Study: Foods and vitamins rich in antioxidants do not lower prostate cancer risk

Despite claims about the benefits of antioxidant supplements on cancer, men who consume foods and vitamins high in vitamin E, beta-carotene and vitamin C do not lower their risk of prostate cancer, School of Medicine researchers report in the Journal of National Cancer Institute.

Led by Victoria Kirsh, a former doctoral student in Yale's Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH) who is now at Cancer Care Ontario, the team of investigators found that while there was no significant association between the use of antioxidant supplements and the reduced risk of prostate cancer, there was an association between high-dose supplemental vitamin E intake and a reduced risk of prostate cancer in smokers.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Susan T. Mayne, professor of epidemiology in the Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at EPH, and investigators at the National Cancer Institute as part of the Yale University-National Cancer Institute Partnership Training Program. This one-of-a-kind program is designed to support students while they train in modern methodologies for evaluating the lifestyle factors associated with human cancer risk -- with an emphasis on nutritional, environmental and occupational determinants, including their interactions with genetic factors. Mayne is also associate director of the Yale Cancer Center.

"The study is unique in that it was carried out in the screening arm of a randomized trial to evaluate Prostate-Specific Antigen test and digital rectal examination as prostate cancer modalities," says Kirsh, who conducted the research as part of her dissertation at Yale. "This helped to avoid bias that could result from men with healthier diets seeking prostate screening examinations."

Kirsh adds, "There has been definite interest in the use of antioxidant micronutrients to help reduce the risk of cancer. In keeping with the results of previous trials, vitamin E supplementation was related to a reduced risk of prostate cancer in smokers, although the reasons for that benefit remain unclear since smoking itself is not strongly related to prostate cancer."

Other researchers on the study include Richard B. Hayes, Nilanjan Chatterjee, Amy F. Subar, L. Beth Dixon, Dr. Demetrius Albanes, Dr. Gerald L. Andriole, Dr. Donald A. Urban and Ulrike Peters.

-- By Karen Peart

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