Daily vitamin pills may cause skin cancer: study

The scientists,who gave volunteers pills containing vitamin E,ascorbic acid,beta-carotene,selenium and zinc,found that they were four times more likely to get cancer than those who took dummy pills.

The findings come from a follow-up study to one conducted in 2007,which revealed the risks to vitamin-pill poppers,the Daily Mail reported.

That research involving 13,000 adults found that those who took daily supplements to stay healthy were at much higher risk of skin cancer.

To double-check their findings,the same team monitored patients for several more years and found that the increased risk virtually disappeared once patients stopped daily supplements.

The scientists,who reported their findings in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention,are now calling for those most at risk of skin cancer — fair-skinned types or those with a history of excessive sun exposure — to steer clear of supplements.

Women may be more at risk than men,possibly because they have more fat around the skin,where antioxidants and vitamins are mainly stored.

Thousands of people die of malignant melanomas every year and it is the third most common cancer among people in the age group of 15 to 39 years. Over-exposure to the sun’s rays is said to be the biggest reason behind the disease.

Earlier this year,Swedish researchers found that taking daily multi-vitamin pills raised the risk of breast cancer in women by almost 20 per cent. They said supplements could increase the density of breast tissue,a known risk factor for cancer.

However,Dr Carrie Ruxton from the Health Supplements Information Service,which represents supplement suppliers,said other studies had found no link between vitamins and skin cancer.

The low number of skin cancer cases in the French research also cast doubt on the results,she added.

Cancer Research UK stressed that vitamins and minerals found in foods did not appear to harm skin in the same way. “The best way to reduce the risk is to avoid sunburn,” said a spokesman.