Since one out of every eight women is destined to develop breast cancer, a tremendous amount of research has been undertaken to discover ways of preventing this common killer. One compound that has been extensively studied for its role in preventing breast cancer is tocotrieonls in vitamin E.
When reviewing all the published evidence, it does not appear that alpha-tocopherol vitamin E confers a protective effect against breast cancer. Yet studies show that women who consume foods high in other forms of vitamin E (tocotrienols) substantially reduce their risk of contracting breast cancer (by as much as 90%).
A cardinal feature of breast tumors are rapidly proliferating cells. Estrogen drugs promote hyper-proliferation and this is one reason why these drugs may quadruple the incidence of breast cancer.
Studies of breast cancer cells in culture indicate that tocotrienols have potent effects in inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis (cancer cell death). These studies show that alpha-tocopherol does not have this same benefit.
Alpha tocopherol acetate is the most widespread supplement form of vitamin E, yet the evidence points to other forms of vitamin E as being responsible for the dramatic reduction in breast cancer incidence observed in great human studies.
The individual tocopherols and tocotrienols have different biological activities as they relate to their effects on cellular function. Gamma tocopherol, for instance, has demonstrated significant cancer prevention effects compared to alpha-tocopherol.
The potential anti-cancer effects of gamma tocopherol and the tocotrienols merits aggressive human clinical research to determine if women who supplement with these unique forms of vitamin E can reduce their risk of contracting breast cancer. Further research will be conducted on breast cancer patients to see if the addition of tocotrienols to tamoxifen improves long-term survival rates.
There is no compelling evidence that standard (alpha-tocopherol) vitamin E supplements reduce breast cancer incidence. While alpha-tocopherol has been shown to protect against a wide range of other diseases, it would appear that the tocotrienols are the ideal form of vitamin E to specifically reduce breast cancer risk
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