Prostate Cancer Health Center

Vitamin E Supplements May Raise Prostate Cancer Risk

Risks of Excessive Vitamin Use

For every 1,000 men who took vitamin E supplements for seven years, there were 76 prostate cancers in the vitamin E group and 65 cancers in the placebo group.

The 11 additional cancers represented a 17% increase in risk.

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis W. Brawley, MD, says the surprising findings from the SELECT trial should serve as a cautionary tale.

"It is now clear that we need to be very cautious in our advocacy of taking excessive amounts of any vitamin," he tells WebMD. "Taking a multivitamin every day may be OK, but we now know that taking excessive amounts of vitamins can be dangerous."