Does Selenium Supplementation Help Prevent Prostate Cancer?

Selenium, a micronutrient essential for human health, is often considered as a magic bullet for the prevention of age-related diseases, especially cancer. However, in the SELECT study, published in the journal JAMA on December 9, selenium supplementation in middle-aged, healthy men did not seem to help reduce the occurrence of prostate cancer. Even in combination with vitamin E, a compound often praised for its antioxidant and hence disease-preventive potential, selenium did not show any significant effect.

Notweworthy, the study confirms data from the EPIC study (December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) which also did not detect any association between selenium concentrations in the blood and prostate cancer risk in a large cohort of European men.

Although selenium supplements may help prevent (bladder) cancer in certain sub-populations, and may perhaps be useful in populations prone to selenium deficiency, supplementation specifically for the prevention of prostate cancer does not seem to hold water.