Does Vitamin E Protect Against Cisplatin Neurotoxicity?

Neuropathy caused by cisplatin, which is used to treat various cancers, often limits the dosage that can be used. Doses of more than 300 mg/m² cause a sensory neuropathy. The mechanism may be apoptosis caused by formation of free radicals. Vitamin E has been found to at least partially prevent this effect of reactive oxygen species (J Neurosci Res 1998; 54:778). To assess the protective effect of vitamin E supplementation against cisplatin-induced neuropathy, researchers randomized 108 patients with different solid tumors in double-blind fashion to alpha-tocopherol (400 mg/day) or placebo. Cisplatin was the only neurotoxic agent the patients received.

Forty patients dropped out because of disease progression or stopped taking vitamin E befor…