Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Gamma-Tocopherol or combinations of vitamin E forms induce cell death in human prostate cancer cells by interrupting sphingolipid synthesis

Contributed by Bruce N. Ames, November 9, 2004

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality. Radiation or chemotherapy, although often effective in causing remission, frequently lead to deleterious side effects. It is therefore important to develop effective anticancer agents with high selectivity for malignant cells and low toxicity. We suggest that some vitamin E forms may fall into this category, as well as being beneficial in human disease prevention.

Vitamin E is a generic term for at least eight structurally related molecules: alpha-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, alpha-tocotrienol, beta-tocotrienol, gamma-tocotrienol, and delta-tocotrienol. Among them, alpha-tocopherol is the predominant form of vitamin E in plasma and tissues and is the form that has drawn most attention in the past. Benefit from alpha-tocopherol for cancer prevention has been suggested in some studies, but contradictory results exist in both animal and human intervention studies.

Recently, studies by us and others have indicated that other forms of vitamin E appear to have unique properties that are not shared by alpha-tocopherol but may be important to human health.

(Read abstract here)