This week, I heard of the impending death of another friend from lung cancer. She had never smoked and is approaching her final days. The urgent need to identify factors which decrease one’s risk for cancer, along with factors which will decrease virulence of disease are paramount on my mind this week.

Now, a research study indicates a higher intake of vitamin E in the form of alpha, beta and gamma-tocopherol may be associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer — possibly by as much as 61 percent!

This study, published in the September 1, 2008 issue of the International Journal of Cancer, compared the intakes of these tocopherols on lung cancer risk. Because initial studies of the impact of vitamin E on lung cancer focused on the alpha tocopherols, the lesser known fractions of this vitamin are now being evaluated. In this ongoing study of over a thousand lung cancer cases and over 1400 control subjects, higher intakes of alpha, beta and gamma-tocopherols were found to be associated with decreased risk of lung cancer. When groups with the highest and lowest levels of alpha tocopherol were compared, the subjects in the top 25 percent of intake showed a 61 percent reduction in lung cancer risk. For beta and gamma-tocopherols, the difference was a 44 percent risk reduction.  Evaluating delta-tocopherol revealed no change in risk reduction. 

Researchers conducting this study recommend further evaluation of these findings, since this is the first report of this independent association of dietary tocopherols.

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Any information, medical or otherwise, contained in this blog is purely for entertainment and is not intended as medical advice or medical treatment.  Please consult your own doctor for any medical advice or treatment.