Selenium/cadmium ratios in human prostates: indicators of prostate cancer risk of smokers and nonsmokers, and relevance to the cancer protective effects of selenium.

Selenium (Se) in a large-scale human supplementation trial has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of prostate cancer in elderly men. Because Se is known to interact with cadmium (Cd), it has been suggested that its cancer protective action could be attributable in part to its interaction with Cd, a toxic and suspected carcinogenic element, which is found in many foods, in drinking water, and in the environment. Cadmium is considered a significant prostate cancer risk factor as it stimulates the growth of prostate epithelial cells and promotes their malignant transformation. Accordingly, prostate cancer risk is determined not only by Se status, but also the degree of Cd exposure. Determinations of Se and Cd in 129 prostates of deceased men aged 15-99 yr revealed Cd to accumulate in the prostate. Whereas the atomic Se/Cd ratios of the prostates of young men were invariably >1, indicating a stoichiometric excess of Se over Cd, they were found to decline with age, approaching the 1:1 ratio in elderly nonsmokers, a fact suggestive of the formation of a 1:1 Cd-Se complex. The associated physiological inactivation of Se could account for the increase of the prostate cancer risk with advancing age. The Se/Cd ratios dropped more steeply and consistently with age in smokers than in nonsmokers. In the prostates of some smokers, Se/Cd ratios even reached values <1, indicating a stoichiometric excess of Cd over Se. The excessive accumulation of Cd in the prostates of smokers along with sub-optimal Se intakes could explain why smokers develop more aggressive and lethal forms of prostate cancer than nonsmokers.