Role of Vitamin E in Prevention of Breast Cancer: An Epidemiological Review

Abstract

Breast cancer rates are so high among women in more developed countries, rates are increasing in almost every region of the world. In 2018, it is reported that 627,000 women died from breast cancer. Vitamin E is a common supplement characterized by its antioxidant potential effects on many chronic conditions that prevent free radicals from harming DNA, protein and cell membranes may serve as a part of cancer growth by reducing oxidative DNA alteration. The major forms of vitamin E as an anticancer agent, which acts as major antioxidants to regulate peroxidation reactions and control free-radical production within the body, are tocopherols and tocotrienols. Since Vitamin E had first acted as a non-antioxidant, α-tocopherol has inhibited smooth muscle proliferation activity and protein kinase C activity. Although tocotrienols are mostly investigated as antioxidant effects of tocotrienol, which plays an important role in reducing the damage to DNA by decreasing the by-product of lipid peroxidation. This study aims to investigate the connection between vitamin E and also the risk of breast cancer and the outcome is that some inverse relationship between vitamin E and breast cancer exists. There has been clear evidence that vitamin E reduces the risk of human cancer but our main focus is on breast cancer, seen in many prospective and retrospective case-control, cohort and intervention studies.