BACKGROUND: Some epidemiological studies have suggested that vitamin E intake reduces the risk of pancreatic cancer; however, this conclusion has not been supported by all the published studies. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between vitamin E intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer by combining the results from published articles.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We searched the published studies that reported the relationship between vitamin E intake and pancreatic cancer risk using the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases through December 31st, 2014. Based on a fixed-effects or random-effects model, the RR and 95% CI were used to assess the combined risk.

RESULTS: In total, 10 observational studies (6 case-control studies and 4 cohort studies) were included. The overall RR (95% CI) of pancreatic cancer for the highest vs. the lowest level of vitamin E intake was 0.81 (0.73, 0.89). We found little evidence of heterogeneity (I2=19.8%, P=0.255). In the subgroup analyses, we found an inverse association between vitamin E intake and pancreatic cancer risk both in the case-control and cohort studies. Additionally, this inverse association was not modified by different populations.

CONCLUSIONS: In our meta-analysis, there was an inverse association between vitamin E intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer. A high level of vitamin E might be a protective factor for populations at risk for pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: Aged, 80 and over, Anticarcinogenic Agents - administration & dosage, Antioxidants - physiology, Asia - epidemiology, Case-Control Studies, Cohort Studies, Dietary Supplements, Europe - epidemiology, Observational Studies as Topic - statistics & numerical data, Pancreatic Neoplasms - prevention & control, Research Design, Risk, Risk Factors, Sample Size, United States - epidemiology, Vitamin E - physiology, young adult