• Vitamin E against Breast Cancer: A review of the preventive and therapeutic role of a Fat-Soluble Vitamin on Breast Cancer
  • Mina AkbariRad,1 AmirAli Moodi Ghalibaf,2,* Mina RadMard,3 Nazanin Forghani,4
    1. Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    2. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    3. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    4. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.


  • Introduction: Today, breast cancer (BC) becomes one of the highest rates of incidence and prevalent malignancies among women in developed and developing countries which causes millions of deaths every year. Unfortunately, too many exogenous and endogenous factors can increase the risk of BC incidence. In this term, some studies and evidence have been indicated that the human immune system and metabolic status as strong potential factors in BC development. On the other hand, vitamins, especially fat-soluble vitamins, are known as critical minerals in metabolic and immune regulation. Therefore, some hypotheses stated the possible preventive and therapeutic role of fat-soluble vitamins including vitamin A, D, E, and K, in BC. So, the current review study is designed to investigate preventive and therapeutic interventions based on vitamin E, as a fat-soluble vitamin, in BC.
  • Methods: A comprehensive search was done through electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science with the keywords “Breast Cancer”, “Vitamin E” and other related MeSH terms up to July 2021. Original studies, review studies, and the references of the review studies were included. Finally, the related studies which investigated the possible relationship between BC and fat-soluble vitamins were reviewed.
  • Results: Obviously, vitamin E or tocopherol is known as an antioxidant supplement that can potentially protect cells from free radicals DNA, proteins, and cell membrane harming effects. In detail, the protective effects of tocopherol on the DNA and cell lines are due to the decrease in lipid peroxidation by-products. Moreover, several studies indicated the role of vitamin E on activation/inactivation of critical tumorigenic pathways, cell proliferation, energy metabolism, responses to the chemotherapies, and inhibition of the invasion whether metastasis of the malignant cells. Over the molecular and cellular studies, some epidemiological studies demonstrated the protective effects of vitamin E on BC. While some studies indicated the preventive effects of vitamin E on BC incidence, several studies did not mention any significant relationship between BC prevention and vitamin E status in the body. Also, there was not found a study that indicated any vise verse effect of vitamin E on breast cell lines. There are shreds of evidence that show the therapeutic effects of vitamin E in combination with chemotherapy on BC patients, but the dose/response of this effect is ambiguous.
  • Conclusion: According to what was reviewed, vitamin E potentially has anti-tumor effects on breast cancer but further studies are needed to determine its sufficient dose and status in the body in this term.
  • Keywords: Breast Cancer, Vitamin E, Tocopherol, Anti-tumor Agents