Vitamin E and cancer.

Abstract

Perhaps not surprisingly, vitamin E which has been touted to be potentially beneficial for a variety of disorders, including cancer, heart disease, and even Alzheimer's disorder, based on its function as an antioxidant has failed to withstand the scrutiny of recent, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials, including failure to provide science-based support for vitamin E as a potent anticancer agent. Although less studied, vitamin E forms other than RRR-alpha-tocopherol or synthetic all-rac-alpha-tocopherol show promise as anticancer agents in preclinical studies. This chapter will (1) review basic information about natural and synthetic vitamin E compounds as well as vitamin E analogues, (2) summarize the current status of human intervention trials, (3) review data from preclinical cell culture and animal model studies of vitamin E compounds and novel vitamin E-based analogues in regards to future potential for cancer treatment, and (4) summarize some of the insights that have been gained into the anticancer mechanisms of action of vitamin E-based compounds which are providing interesting insights into their potent proapoptotic effects, which include restoration of apoptotic signaling pathways and blockage of prosurvival signaling events.

• Authors: Kimberly Kline, Karla A Lawson, Weiping Yu, Bob G Sanders
• Journal: Vitamins and hormones (Vitam Horm) Vol. 76 Pg. 435-61 ( 2007) ISSN: 0083-6729 [Print] United States
• PMID: 17628185 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Antioxidants
• Vitamin E

Topics

• Animals
• Antioxidants (chemistry)
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Neoplasms (drug therapy, prevention & control)
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Signal Transduction (drug effects)
• Vitamin E (analogs & derivatives, chemistry, pharmacology)