Vitamins C, E supplements don't increase melanoma risk

Washington, Aug 18 (ANI): Daily supplementation of vitamins C and E do not increase risk of melanoma in women, finds a new study.

A recent randomized trial of antioxidants for cancer prevention found that daily supplementation with nutritionally appropriate doses of vitamins C and E, beta carotene, selenium and zinc appeared to increase the risk of melanoma in women four-fold.

In the present study, lead researcher Dr Maryam M. Asgari, M.P.H., of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland examined the association between antioxidants and melanoma.

The team studied 69,671 women and men who were participating in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study, designed to examine supplement use and cancer risk.

It showed that intake of multivitamins and supplements during the previous 10 years, including selenium and beta carotene, was not associated with melanoma risk in either women or men.

The researchers also examined the risk of melanoma associated with long-term use of supplemental beta carotene and selenium at doses comparable to the previous study and found no association.

"Consistent with the present results, case-control studies examining serologic (blood) levels of beta carotene, vitamin E and selenium did not find any association with subsequent risk of melanoma," the authors write.

"Moreover, the Nurses' Health Study reported no association between intake of vitamins A, C and E and melanoma risk in 162,000 women during more than 1.6 million person-years of follow-up," they added.

The study appears in Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. (ANI)