Association between serum alpha-tocopherol and serum androgens and estrogens in older men

There is evidence supporting a role for sex hormones in the etiology of pro state cancer. Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol reduced prostate cancer in the alpha-Tocopherol, beta-Carotene Prevention Study (ATBC Study). The objective of this study was to assess the relation of baseline levels of se rum alpha-tocopherol and serum sex hormones in older men. A cross-sectional analysis of serum alpha-tocopherol and sex hormone concentrations was cond ucted within a subset of the ATBC Study. Serum was collected in the morning after an overnight fast at baseline from 204 men ages 50-69 years particip ating in the ATBC Study and free of prostate cancer. Hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay, and alpha-tocopherol was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography by standard procedures. Multivariate linear regressi on was used to evaluate the association of serum cu-tocopherol with nine an drogens and estrogens after controlling for age, body mass index, hormone a ssay batch, and serum cholesterol. Serum alpha-tocopherol was significantly inversely associated with serum androstenedione, testosterone, sex hormone -binding globulin, and estrone. The difference in hormone concentration per milligram of alpha-tocopherol was 1.8-2.6% for these four hormones. These results indicated that alpha-tocopherol is related to concentrations of sev eral sex hormones in older men and may have implications for the observed p rotective effect of supplemental vitamin E in relation to prostate cancer i n the ATBC Study.