April 2017 - Seleniumfacts.com

Next to skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States. It is a leading causes of cancer death among men of all races and ethnic backgrounds. Low selenium status is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer.

There have been some recent research results relating to selenium supplementation and prostate gland tissue. Researchers in The Netherlands have published results showing that a five-week daily intervention with a high-selenium yeast supplement, 300 micrograms daily, is associated with a down-regulation of genes that are involved with cellular growth and proliferation, with cellular immune response, and with inflammation processes. Also down-regulated by the selenium supplementation is the activity of genes involved with wound-healing [Kok 2017].

The Dutch study was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Interestingly, the researchers saw the opposite effect in the placebo group. In the placebo group, there was an up-regulation of the genes involved in cellular immune response [Kok 2017]. read more

Selenium supplements in the form of organic high-selenium yeast tablets provide the best cancer chemo-protection. These supplements are made using the yeast species *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* in a selenium-enriched growth medium. The yeast cells that produce the high selenium yeast tablets are rendered inactive. They are killed off by a heating process. Strains of the same yeast species are used to brew beer and bake bread.

Selenium supplementation and the risk of prostate cancer? What do we know? We need to be careful in interpreting the research results that we have (and we need more research), but, yes, there is evidence for an inverse association between prostate cancer risk and selenium status [Hurst 2012].

As of this writing (April 2017), the protective effect of selenium supplementation against prostate cancer seems to be found in a relatively narrow range of plasma selenium status [Hurst 2012]. Furthermore, there seems to be a U-shaped relationship between selenium status and protection against prostate cancer.

If the concentrations of selenium in the plasma are too low, there is increased risk of prostate cancer. This is a serious concern in many regions of the world. read more

Milestones in early selenium research

1817 Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius discovers selenium

1957 Biochemist Klaus Schwarz shows that selenium in microscopic amounts has a vital importance for mammalian health

1969 Professor J.T. Rotruck discovers that selenium has a biochemical role as a component of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase

1969 Professors R.J. Shamberger and D.V. Frost report a possible protective effect of selenium against cancer in humans

1973 Professor J.T. Rotruck identifies the enzyme glutathione peroxidase as a selenium-dependent protein

1977 Professor G.N. Schrauzer publishes cancer mortality correlation studies showing an inverse correlation between dietary intakes of selenium and cancer mortality in 27 countries

1988 Professor G.Q Yang summarizes the lessons learned about the selenium-related endemic diseases Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease and about the importance of adequate daily selenium intakes

1989 Professor G.G. Duthie publishes evidence for a role of selenium in the prevention of cardiovascular disease

1993 Researcher W.J. Blot publishes the results of the Nutrition Intervention Trials in Linxian, China, showing that supplementation with a combination of selenium and other antioxidants reduces the risk of cancer

1994 Professor G.N. Schrauzer publishes evidence that selenium is important in the maintenance and therapy of HIV-infected patients

1996 Professor Larry Clark publishes the results of a randomized controlled trial – the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer study -- that shows selenium's cancer-protective effects on colon cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer

1997 Professor G.F. Combs summarizes the evidence for the protective effects of selenium against cancer

1999 Professor J.E. Oldfield publishes his Selenium World Atlas, mapping areas of selenium deficiency around the world

2000 Researcher O.A. Levander publishes evidence showing an anti-viral effect of selenium

2002 Researcher R. Gärtner shows that supplementation with selenium reduces inflammation in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis

2002 Researcher Margaret Rayman presents the arguments for increasing selenium intakes to realize selenium’s antioxidant and anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects as well as selenium’s enhancement of immune function and reproductive success.

Month: April 2017

Selenium and the prostate

Prostate cancer risk and selenium status