Antioxidant May Prevent Prostate Cancer! - Healthday Reporter

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Health - HealthDay Antioxidant May Prevent Prostate Cancer

 

Wed May 5,11:48 PM ET

 

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 5 (HealthDayNews) -- Men whose diets include high levels of

selenium significantly reduce their risk of progressive prostate cancer,

researchers report.

 

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In this new study, researchers found high blood levels of selenium decreased the

risk of advanced prostate cancer. In addition, for men who had above-normal

levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at the start of the study, high

selenium levels significantly reduced risk of all prostate cancer. PSA is a

protein that is found in all men, but it shows up in high levels in men with

prostate cancer or other prostate problems.

 

 

Selenium is an antioxidant that can be found in most plant foods and in some

meats and shellfish. Nuts, particularly Brazil nuts, are also a good source of

dietary selenium.

 

 

" We found a relationship between blood levels of selenium and the risk of

developing advanced prostate cancer over 13 years of follow-up, " said lead

researcher Dr. Haojie Li, a research fellow at the Channing Laboratory of

Harvard Medical School (news - web sites).

 

 

Li and her colleagues collected data on 586 men diagnosed with prostate cancer

over a 13-year period and 577 normal subjects. All the men participated in the

Physicians Health Study, according to the report in the May 5 issue of the

Journal of the National Cancer Institute (news - web sites).

 

 

The protective effect of selenium was most pronounced in patients with slightly

abnormal PSA levels, Li said. However, among men who had normal PSA at the

beginning of the study there did not seem to be significant benefit from

selenium in preventing prostate cancer, she added.

 

 

Men with an elevated PSA can reduce their risk of progressive prostate cancer by

as much as 50 percent, Li said.

 

 

" Our interpretation of the findings is that higher levels of selenium may slow

prostate cancer tumor progression, " Li explained. Elevated PSA indicates that a

tumor exists, and selenium seems to prevent the tumor from growing, she said.

 

 

Li said this data is not sufficient to suggest that men take selenium

supplements to ward off prostate cancer. She added that a trial to test the

effects of selenium on prostate cancer prevention is under way.

 

 

This trial may show whether or not men should increase their selenium intake to

fight prostate cancer, she said.

 

 

" Right now, all we can say is that eating foods with higher levels of selenium

seems to be beneficial in terms of prostate cancer prevention, " Li said. But at

this point, " we can't say that everyone with elevated PSA should be taking

selenium supplements. "

 

 

Dr. Scott M. Lippman, chairman of the department of clinical cancer prevention

at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said this study confirms

findings from animal and cell studies showing that selenium reduces the

progression of prostate cancer.

 

 

There is some debate about the value of selenium in preventing prostate cancer

in men with normal PSA levels, said Lippman, co-author of an accompanying

editorial. But a study of selenium and skin cancer, " did find that selenium was

associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer in men with normal PSA, " he

added.

 

 

The data from the study by Li suggests selenium slows the progression of

prostate cancer in men who have cancer that cannot be detected. " Selenium may

slow the clinical expression of prostate cancer, which is equivalent to

prevention, " Lippman said.

 

 

Lippman agreed it is too early to recommend taking selenium supplements. " I

would not recommend taking selenium supplements until the results of the ongoing

trials are known, " he said. " All of the evidence we have to date [is]

encouraging, but not definitive. "

 

 

More information

 

 

The National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) can tell you about

selenium, and the American Cancer Society (news - web sites) explains prostate

cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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