Vitamin E may lower liver cancer risk

"We found a clear, inverse dose-response relation between vitamin E intake and liver cancer risk," said Zhang and his colleagues, adding that they did find a small difference between men and women in the risk estimate –  which is likely attributable to fewer liver cancer cases having occurred among male.

However, they reiterated that "high intake of vitamin E either from diet or supplements was related to lower risk of liver cancer in middle-aged or older people from China."

Study details

To determine the relationship between vitamin E intake and liver cancer risk Zhang and colleagues analysed data from a total of 132,837 individuals in China who were enrolled in the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS) from 1997-2000 or the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS) from 2002-2006 – two population-based cohort studies jointly conducted by the Shanghai Cancer Institute and Vanderbilt University.

Using validated food-frequency questionnaires, the researchers conducted in-person interviews to gather data on study participants' dietary habits. They compared liver cancer risk among participants who had high intake of vitamin E with those with low intake.

Analysis from the study revealed that vitamin E intake from diet and supplement use were both associated with a lower risk of liver cancer.

“This association was consistent among participants with and without self-reported liver disease or a family history of liver cancer,” said the authors.

Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1093/jnci/djs277 
“Vitamin Intake and Liver Cancer Risk: A Report From Two Cohort Studies in China”
Authors: W. Zhang, X-O. Shu, H. Li, G. Yang,  et al