Vitamins A and E 'Do not Help Prevent Cancer'

The study involved 14,641 male doctors, all aged 50 or over, who were split into four groups and given regular doses of vitamin A, E, both, or placebos.

Over eight years the cancer rates were similar for each of the groups. Even rates of prostate cancer, which many had hoped vitamin E would prevent, were unaffected by the supplements.

Howard Sesso, of the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the Physicians Health Study, said: "The lack of an effect that we observe for vitamin E or C on cancer does convince us that these particular doses that we tested really have no role for recommendation for cancer prevention."

Marji McCullough, of the American Cancer Society, said that patients should get their nutrients from eating fruits, vegetables and grains, rather than taking pills.

"Well-conducted clinical trials such as this are rapidly closing the door on the hope that common vitamin supplements may protect against cancer," she said.

"It's still possible that some benefit exists for subgroups that couldn't be measured, but the overall results are certainly discouraging."

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and several vitamin makers. The results were reported on Sunday at an American Association for Cancer Research conference in Washington.

Earlier this year a report from the Copenhagen University Hospital found that taking antioxidant supplements such as vitamins A and E may actually increase mortality.