Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of dietary supplementation of alpha-tocopherol on mutagen sensitivity levels in melanoma patients: a pilot trial.
We evaluated the effects of vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol) on mutagen sensitivity levels in a randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial. In brief, a dietary supplement of 1000 mg/day vitamin E or a placebo was randomly administered for 3 months to melanoma outpatients clinically free of the disease. Plasma vitamin E and mutagen sensitivity levels were measured at baseline and at the end of the trial after 3 months. At baseline, we found no significant differences in plasma vitamin E and mutagen sensitivity levels between the two groups. We also measured dietary intake at baseline and found dietary vitamin E to be a poor predictor of plasma levels of vitamin E. After 3 months of supplementation, we found that plasma levels of alpha-tocopherol increased significantly (P = 0.0005) in the vitamin E compared to the placebo group. We also found a non-significant, but consistent decrease in plasma gamma-tocopherol concentrations in the vitamin E supplemented compared to the placebo group. We did not find any significant difference between the vitamin E and placebo groups in mutagen sensitivity levels either at baseline or after 3 months of supplementation. We conclude that short term vitamin E supplementation, although it causes increased blood levels of alpha-tocopherol, does not provide protection against bleomycin-induced chromosome damage.
Mahabir
S
S
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Coit
D
D
Liebes
L
L
Brady
M S
MS
Lewis
J J
JJ
Roush
G
G
Nestle
M
M
Fry
D
D
Berwick
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000009:adverse effects; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000009:adverse effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000187:drug effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009153:Mutagens; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010919:Placebos; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D024504:gamma-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood
D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D009153:Mutagens; D010919:Placebos; D001761:Bleomycin; D014810:Vitamin E; D024504:gamma-Tocopherol; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol