On Tuesday, US researchers warned the public about a growing number of prostate cases. They believe that there is a link between vitamin E supplements and a 17 percent boosted risk of prostate cancer, which describes the findings as an “important public health concern.”
The study started 10 years ago. 35,000 male participants joined the study. After ten long years, researchers find out about the spike in prostate cancer with those designated in taking vitamin E rather than selenium or a placebo.
According to study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, dietary supplementation with vitamin E drastically increased risk of prostate cancer amongst healthy men.
Selenium, a trace mineral that can be found in foods like Brazil nuts, tuna and beef, can not be seen countries such as China and Russia because those countries are lacking in soil.
The study got presented based on earlier research suggestion that selenium or vitamin E might lessen the risk of developing prostate cancer.
The current data appeared three years past a preliminary study of the findings, issued in 2008, proved a slightly higher but statistically irrelevant risk of prostate cancer among people taking vitamin E.
However, because the risk was moving toward statistical significance, a safety committee called for a stop to the randomized Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico in 2008.
A longer-term follows up, completed in July of this year, and has discovered the higher cancer occurrence in men assigned to the vitamin E portion of the test.
According to the results and the results of large cardiovascular studies that use vitamin E, people should not take the dose of vitamin E used in SELECT as the supplements does not have any benefit and is also risky.
The study started back in 2001. Researchers and created four groups: one would get selenium, another would receive 400 global units of daily vitamin E, another group would take both, and the fourth provided with placebo.
After ten years, 620 men that are taking vitamin E develop prostate cancer.
Those taking selenium only has 575 male participants, who develop prostate cancer, weigh against to 529 on the sugar pill.
The entire male participant does not show any sign of prostate cancer or any cancer when they joined the study.
The American Cancer Society believe that 240,890 new cases of prostate cancer is going to be detected in 2011, and 33,720 men are going to die of prostate cancer in the United States.
The study does not have any biological explanation why vitamin E drives the risk even higher, but warned the people that once they used the pills. It effects would still persist even after the patient stop taking vitamin E.