Vitamin E is not just a single compound., It is composed of a family of eight similar compounds, There is much known about Vitamin E as compared to when I was in medical school , a mere 30 years ago.
The alpha tocopherol Vitamin E has fallen from the sky as a crashing comet, but you must give credit to the other compounds, especially tocotrienol. This is the lesser known Vitamin E. There are great studies on this type for cardiovascular disease, and now I look forward to the new studies for cancer therapies.
For one the tocotrienols have a different chemical structure and there is a wider range of cell membrane coverage versus the alpha tocopherol group. The other fact which I find the most important is the superiority of the antioxidant effect for the tocotrienols as compared to the alpha tocopherols.
There are many more pathways that are activated by the tocotrienols. Due to this fact alone, there will be in the future more cancer prevention and cancer therapies studied for the tocotrienols. This group has repeatedly in studies been shown to inhibit cancer cells. This is not true of the alpha tocopherols. Astonishing a third of all the research on Vitamin E has been published in the last 2 years, even though there are studies dating back to the 1970's on Vitamin E
For those who take Vitamin E ...take a mixed tocotrienols. Do not take one specific Vitamin E as alpha tocopherols. You must move with the times. You must be well informed.