Role of Vitamin E in Selected Malignant Neoplasms in Women

Abstract

Vitamin E, which is actually a mixture of eight isoforms (four tocopherols and four tocotrienols), is a powerful antioxidant that protects polyunsaturated fatty acids against oxidation and has the ability to break the chain lipid peroxidation, which is used in the treatment of heart disease, atherosclerosis, muscle disorders or infertility among men. Studies in-vitro show that one of the effects of tocopherol is the reduction of cancer stem cell activity which is connected to poor clinical course. In the scientific literature, reports on the participation of vitamin E not only in protection against the mutagenic effects of reactive oxygen species, but also in its anti-angiogenic activity and the ability to inhibit the invasion and metastasis of neoplastic cells are increasingly common. In this context, the role of vitamin E in preventing the neoplastic process and selected malignant neoplasms among women seems to be of particular interest. In this article, we present the results of research on the potential anticancer effects of vitamin E in the fight against breast, cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancer.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

M.A. wishes to acknowledge the Polish Science Centre (NCN) and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) for the scholarships under the UWERTURA (2019/32/U/ST4/00092) and the BEKKER program (PPN/BEK/2019/1/00034), respectively. M.A. wishes also to acknowledge the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW) for the scholarship for outstanding young scientists in the years 2020‒2023 (STYP/15/1665/E-336/2020).