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| peroxidation of polyunsaturated fats. Vitamin E also increases the effectiveness of selenium, detoxifies nitrates, and protects against cancer, especially prostate cancer. Studies on the antiproliferation activities of vitamin E show that the succinate ester (the dry form) is the most effective form and that rumor cell growth inhibition is probably more than just antioxidant functions. |
| Vitamin E and selenium act alone and in synergy to protect against the effects of radiation and chemotherapeutic agents. Vitamin E appears to confer its protection in an alternate complementary mechanism by reducing cellular lipid peroxidation products. Selenium confers protection in part by inducing or activating cellular free-radical scavenging systems and by enhancing peroxide breakdown, thus increasing the capacity of the cell to cope with oxidative stress. |
| Retrovirus-induced immune dysfunctions can, through a multistage process, cause tumorigenesis. Vitamin E can inhibit or reverse this process by several mechanisms, some of which include: |
| Enhancing mitogen-mediated T-cells |
| Regulating T-suppressor cells |
| Affecting the arachidonic acid cascade by reducing the regulation of prostaglandin E2 and increasing the regulation of interleukin-2 16 |
| While vitamin E closely interacts with selenium, it also interacts with vitamin C. Vitamin C has been shown to preserve the antioxidant action of vitamin E by reducing oxidized vitamin E.17 |
| An Arizona Cancer Center researcher reported at a national conference on cancer and nutrition that vitamin E oil applied directly to the skin of laboratory mice exposed to ultraviolet-B light, the most cancer-causing rays of the sun, protected them against developing skin cancer.18 |
| A recent study showed that 50 mg of alpha-tocopherol per day (a modest intake of vitamin E) reduced prostate cancer incidence by 32 percent and prostate cancer deaths by 41 percent in a group of male smokers in Finland.19 |
| Vitamin E, when taken at 200 IU per day, reduced the risk of developing colon cancer by 57 percent, according to a recent study from the University of Washington School of Medicine.20 |
| In summary, vitamin E inhibits cancer development and management by: |
| Inhibiting neoplastic cell growth |
| Serving as a strong antioxidant and free-radical scavenger |
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