Changes to This Summary (01/31/2013)
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Added text about the Physician Health Study II in which 14,641 male physicians were randomly assigned to receive either a daily multivitamin supplement or a placebo for a median of 11 years, finding that multivitamin supplements were associated with an 8% relative decrease in cancer incidence; overall reduction in cancer risk was more pronounced in men who had been previously diagnosed with cancer than in those with no history of cancer, suggesting that the small benefit of multivitamins in reducing overall cancer incidence largely stemmed from the prevention of second primary cancers (cited Gaziano et al. as reference 32).
This summary is written and maintained by the PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of NCI. The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. More information about summary policies and the role of the PDQ Editorial Boards in maintaining the PDQ summaries can be found on the About This PDQ Summary and PDQ NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database pages.
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