October 17, 2012 (Associated Press) -- America's favorite
dietary supplements, multivitamins, modestly lowered the risk
for cancer in healthy male doctors who took them for more than a
decade, the first large study to test these pills has found. The
result is a surprise because many studies of individual vitamins
have found they don't help prevent chronic diseases and some
even seemed to raise the risk of cancer. In the new study,
multivitamins cut the chance of developing cancer by 8 percent.
That is less effective than a good diet, exercise and not
smoking, each of which can lower cancer risk by 20 percent to 30
percent, cancer experts say. Multivitamins also may have
different results in women, younger men or people less healthy
than those in this study. "It's a very mild effect and
personally I'm not sure it's significant enough to recommend to
anyone" although it is promising, said Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice
president of cancer prevention at the University of Texas MD
Anderson Cancer Center and formerly of th