4/07/04 Dear Dr. Rodriguez, We read with interest, your study on "Vitamin E Supplements and Risk of Prostate Cancer in US Men". We have a question. By Vitamin E, do you mean D-alpha tocopherol, mixed tocopherol, tocotrienols or dl-alpha tocopherol? Thank you for the clarification. Ann F. Dear Ms. Fonfa: thanks for your interest in our research. In our study we looked specifically at vitamin E supplements. As you well know, vit E from supplements are esters of either the natural or synthetic mixture forms of alpha-tocopherol. Participants listed only whether they took vitamin E supplements, but not the specific brand or other label details. But since the natural form "d-alpha" is marketed as "natural source" vitamin E (which is not common), we suspect most were the "dl-alpha" form. Hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, Carmen Rodriguez MD, MPH Senior Epidemiologist Director, Biospecimen Repository American Cancer Society 1599 Clifton Road. NE Atlanta, GA 30329-4251 phone : 404-329-7796 FAX: 404-327-6450 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.