U.S. study revealed that taking daily supplements of vitamin E during a long-term period can increase cancer risk by 28 percent.

Over 77,000 men and women participated in the study where they took supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folate for over four years. The study, led by Dr. Christopher G. Slatore showed that the supplements failed to protect against lung cancer while vitamin E slightly increase the possibility of developing the disease.

According to the results, a person taking 100 mg a day of vitamin E for 10 years increases the risk of lung cancer by seven percent. Meanwhile, taking 400 mg of vitamin E daily for 10 years raise the risk of lung cancer by 28 percent, noted Slatore, a fellow in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Washington, said in a statement.

After the course of the study, 521 participants developed lung cancer. The people in the study were between the ages of 50 and 76, and were from the state of Washington.

The study also showed that current smokers who took the highest doses of vitamin E - at least 215 milligrams a day for 10 years - were 59 percent more likely to get lung cancer than those who did not take any, a difference that was unlikely to be due to chance.

Medicine Cancer