US scientists have published a new study which linked the excessive use of multivitamins and other supplements to the risk of and fatal prostate cancers. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), finds that men who took multivitamins more than seven times a week had an increased the risk of advanced and fatal prostate cancer. Although the researchers said that further researches are needed in order to verify their conclusions.

The study was based on the participants enrolled in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) AARP Diet and Health Study. They were cancer free when study started in 1995 and 1996. In 5 years of follow up, 10,241 men were diagnosed with incident prostate cancer; this included 8,765 localized and 1,476 advanced cancers.

The study concluded that men who consumed multivitamins more than seven times a week (classed as excessive multivitamin users) had a significantly higher risk of advanced and fatal prostate cancers (32 and 98 per cent respectively) compared with men who did not take multivitamins at all.

In conclusion, the researchers suggested that: "Regular multivitamin use is not associated with the risk of early or localized prostate cancer. The possibility that men taking high levels of multivitamins along with other supplements have increased risk of advanced and fatal prostate cancers is of concern and merits further evaluation."