http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=47910

Vitamin E can halt prostate and lung cancer: Study:
[Health India]: Washington, Dec 15 : A new study, conducted by scientists at
the Purdue University, has found that the form of vitamin E found in many plant
seeds, but not in most manufactured nutritional supplements, might halt the
growth of prostate and lung cancer cells.

They found that gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans,
sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of
lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells.

The vitamin's presence interrupts the synthesis of certain fatty molecules
called sphingolipids, important components of cell membranes. However, the
gamma-tocopherol leaves healthy human prostate cells unaffected, which could
give it value as an anticancer agent.

The study, which has been published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences,' however said that because most nutritional supplements
contain only alpha-tocopherol, a different form of vitamin E that alone does
not have these anticancer properties, it may be better to supplement the diet
with mixed forms of vitamin E.

The researchers indicated that gamma-tocopherol inhibits inflammation, which
had already been implicated in cancer development. They theorized that it might
retard the progress of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and to test their
hypothesis they exposed cultures of cancerous prostate and lung cells to the
vitamin. Normal prostate epithelial cells were used as a control group.

They said that the vitamin could be used to target lung and prostrate cancer
cells without the damaging side effects of chemotherapy.

The study also revealed that gamma-tocopherol caused cell death by interrupting
sphingolipid synthesis. (ANI)