Researchers Report How Vitamin E May Fight Prostate Cancer.
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--Researchers
from the University of Rochester reported they may know how vitamin E may
benefit prostate cancer in a study that appears in the May 28 Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences (99, 11:7408-13, 2002).
Using vitamin E in the form of
alpha-tocopheryl succinate, researchers found that the nutrient suppressed the
expression of prostate-specific antigen, a marker for the progression of
prostate cancer. They also found that vitamin E suppresses androgen receptor
expression through transcriptional (reducing the amount of messenger RNA
available to androgen receptor expression) and post-transcriptional modulation
(directly impacting androgen receptor expression).
In terms of cell growth, vitamin E
inhibited the growth of the prostate cancer cells, LNCaP. Comparatively, the
pharmaceutical anti-androgen--hydroxyflutamide--commonly used in prostate cancer
patients was shown to only slightly inhibit the growth of LNCaP cells.
The researchers noted that, interestingly, simultaneous administration of the
drug with vitamin E resulted in a more significant inhibitory effect on LNCaP
cell growth.
The study's authors reported this
finding may help establish new therapies in preventing and treating prostate
cancer. "As we have found that vitamin E reduced the amount of androgen
receptor, a key factor for the progression of prostate cancer, this could be the
base to concert different therapy strategies," said Shuyuan Yeh, a study author
and an assistant professor in the department of urology and pathology at the
university. "For example, anti-androgen will prevent androgen's bind on androgen
receptor and vitamin E would reduce the amount of androgen receptor. The
combination of anti-androgen and vitamin E would possibly elicit better therapy
effects.
"Overall, we
are confident to say [alpha-tocopheryl succinate] is a safe and promising
dietary supplement for cancer prevention," Yeh added. |
