Vitamin E, hot flashes and Tamoxifen

[1rarebird]

While getting my weekly infusion of Herceptin this morning, I mentioned to my nurse that I have been sleeping poorly since starting Tamoxifen 6 weeks ago and my hot flashes keep waking me. She said that many people with this problem take Vitamin E supplements and often find some relief. She recommended taking 400 IU doses twice a day.

I double checked via the Internet and basically found several sources that confirmed my nurse's recommendations. However, when I checked for possible adverse interactions of Vitamin E and Tamoxifen, I found an abstract of a paper listed in the November 2006 Annals of Surgical Oncology which warned of a possible decease in Tamoxifen efficacy with the concurrent administration of Vitamin E (see http://www.springerlink.com/content/x7m3qt7lx1173n51/ ) The researchers conducted experiments in vitro and in mice models using humanized breast cancer cells.

I don't know if the dosing in the experiments was equivalent to typical Tamoxifen therapy and likely vitamin E supplementation by breast cancer patients. I am wondering if this same sort research has been conducted by others and what the recommendations are. Although I would like to sleep better, I certainly don't want to jeopardize whatever benefit I may be getting from the Tamoxifen.

bird