http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/02/29/vitamine-study.html

Vitamin E has risk, doesn't protect against lung cancer: study
Vitamin supplements overall found to be useless in preventing cancer,
researchers find
Last Updated: Friday, February 29, 2008 | 12:47 PM ET
CBC News

For those smokers who think they're buying insurance against lung cancer
by taking vitamins, a new study finds they may want to rethink that
choice.

According to researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, which
surveyed 77,000 vitamin users, vitamins do not protect against lung
cancer. In fact, certain ones can raise the risk.

The higher the dose of vitamin E per day, the higher the risk of
developing lung cancer, the study found.

"Indeed, increasing intake of supplemental vitamin E was associated with a
slightly increased risk of lung cancer," said Christopher Slatore, the
study's author, in a release.

Researchers found that for every additional 100mg/day of vitamin E, the
risk of lung cancer went up seven per cent. Over a 10-year period, that
risk would translate into a 28 per cent increased risk.

Vitamin E supplementation was most likely to increase the risk of small
cell lung cancer, the study found. Current smokers were found to be most
at risk.

"Patients should be counselled against using these supplements to prevent
lung cancer," according to the study

The study looked at the vitamin consumption habits of 77,126 men and women
who were between 50 and 76 years of age and lived in Washington state.

Researchers predicted their risk of lung cancer in the four years
following their enrollment in the study, taking into account their smoking
status, vitamin usage and other factors.

The study was carried out between October 2000 and December 2006.

Of the group, 521 developed lung cancer, which was in line with
researchers' expectations.

As for the other vitamins studied, such as multivitamins, vitamin C, and
folate, they did "not show any evidence for a decreased risk of lung
cancer,” said Slatore.

The authors point out that eating fruit and vegetables as a way of staving
off cancer has more benefit, as they contain vitamins and phytomchemicals
that play a more complex — and not fully understood — role in cancer
prevention.

The study is published in the first March issue of the American Thoracic
Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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