Background: Quantification of the association between the intake of vitamin E and risk of lung cancer is still conflicting. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the evidence from epidemiological studies of vitamin E intake with the risk of lung cancer.
Methods: Pertinent studies were identified by a search in PubMed and Web of Knowledge up to October 2014. Random-effect model was used to combine study-specific results. Publication bias was estimated using Egger's regression asymmetry test.
Results: Ten articles reporting 11 studies (10 prospective studies and 1 case-control studies) involving 4434 lung cancer cases were used in this meta-analysis. The combined relative risk (RR) of lung cancer associated with vitamin E intake was 0.858 (95% CI=0.742-0.991) overall, significant protective associations were also found in America population (RR=0.862, 95% CI=0.715-0.996) and prospective studies (RR=0.913, 95% CI=0.827-0.996). No publication bias was found.
Conclusions: Our analysis indicated that vitamin E intake might decrease the risk of lung cancer, especially in America.
Keywords: Vitamin E; lung cancer; meta-analysis.