Selenium & Vitamin E May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 220,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007. The American Cancer Society also estimates that 1 in 6 men will get the disease in their lifetime, but only 1 in 34 will die from the disease.

Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in January found that elevated selenium intake combined with either higher than average vitamin E or the use of a daily multivitamin may significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer.¹

The researchers, who were from a wide range of institutes in the US and Denmark, studied the serum (blood) selenium levels in 724 men with prostate cancer and 879 healthy control subjects. The men, who were followed for up to 8 years, were part of the larger Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. The study found that the men who reported a higher than average (28 IU per day) vitamin E intake, who were also in the highest quartile of serum selenium levels, had 42% reduced risk of prostate cancer as compared to those in the lowest quartile of serum selenium levels. Likewise, the researchers found that men who were in the highest quartile of serum selenium, who also reported daily multivitamin use, had a 39% reduced risk of prostate cancer. The study did not find that selenium alone was able to affect cancer risk.

Previous studies on selenium have found that it may reduce the risk of prostate and lung cancer as well as stimulate the immune system.