Prostate cancer vitamin e

Researchers at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York have found that vitamin E slows prostate cancer growth in two ways.

First, it stops one protein from attaching itself to the male hormone androgen. It also stops production of another protein--prostate-specific androgen (PSA).

Androgen is known to contribute to the growth of cancer cells, hut researchers concede that the role of PSA--widely used as a marker indicating the presence of prostate cancer in males--isn't certain.

This new research comes as US health officials conduct a study examining the use of both vitamin E and selenium, involving 30,000 men aged 50 and up in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.

Rochester researchers believe selenium may function differently from vitamin E since, in their study, the mineral did not alter the two proteins.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of death in men in the United States. PSA tests are available from your physician as part of a regular checkup.