BACKGROUND: The relationship between selenium and cancer involves many different aspects. These include the forms of selenium present in the diet and in the body, their functions and mechanisms of action, and methods employed in assessing an individual's selenium nutritional status-both in general, and in epidemiological studies of the risk of cancer in relation to diet, as well as in connection with long-term trials for investigating the disease-preventive potential of selenium supplementation. AIM OF THE REVIEW: To review different aspects on selenium metabolism, the occurrence of different selenoproteins and their use as biomarkers of selenium status, the results of intervention trials of the cancer-preventive effects of selenium supplementation, the mechanisms of action involved, together with epidemiological findings on relations between the selenium status in the body and risk of cancer. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The rapid advance in the knowledge of different selenoproteins and their biological functions has opened up new possibilities for the understanding of the biological effects of selenium supplementation. A wide variety of effects of different forms and doses of selenium has been observed in a number of experimental systems, and it is at present difficult to pinpoint the mechanism that may explain the positive preventive effects of selenium supplementation observed in some human long-term trials. Moreover, additional such trials are needed to define the benefits and risks of different types and doses of selenium supplements which in the future may be implemented for public health reasons. Another necessary focus for future research is a better understanding of the mechanisms by which selenium interferes with the carcinogenesis process.
BACKGROUND: The relationship between selenium and cancer involves many different aspects. These include the forms of selenium present in the diet and in the body, their functions and mechanisms of action, and methods employed in assessing an individual's selenium nutritional status-both in general, and in epidemiological studies of the risk of cancer in relation to diet, as well as in connection with long-term trials for investigating the disease-preventive potential of selenium supplementation. AIM OF THE REVIEW: To review different aspects on selenium metabolism, the occurrence of different selenoproteins and their use as biomarkers of selenium status, the results of intervention trials of the cancer-preventive effects of selenium supplementation, the mechanisms of action involved, together with epidemiological findings on relations between the selenium status in the body and risk of cancer. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The rapid advance in the knowledge of different selenoproteins and their biological functions has opened up new possibilities for the understanding of the biological effects of selenium supplementation. A wide variety of effects of different forms and doses of selenium has been observed in a number of experimental systems, and it is at present difficult to pinpoint the mechanism that may explain the positive preventive effects of selenium supplementation observed in some human long-term trials. Moreover, additional such trials are needed to define the benefits and risks of different types and doses of selenium supplements which in the future may be implemented for public health reasons. Another necessary focus for future research is a better understanding of the mechanisms by which selenium interferes with the carcinogenesis process.
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Authors: Pin Zhuo; Marci Goldberg; Lauren Herman; Bao-Shiang Lee; Hengbing Wang; Rhonda L Brown; Charles B Foster; Ulrike Peters; Alan M Diamond Journal: Cancer Res Date: 2009-10-13 Impact factor: 12.701
Authors: E Jablonska; J Gromadzinska; E Reszka; W Wasowicz; W Sobala; N Szeszenia-Dabrowska; P Boffetta Journal: Eur J Nutr Date: 2009-05-05 Impact factor: 5.614
Authors: Carlos Clayton Torres Aguiar; Anália Barbosa Almeida; Paulo Victor Pontes Araújo; Rita Neuma Dantas Cavalcante de Abreu; Edna Maria Camelo Chaves; Otoni Cardoso do Vale; Danielle Silveira Macêdo; David John Woods; Marta Maria de França Fonteles; Silvania Maria Mendes Vasconcelos Journal: Oxid Med Cell Longev Date: 2012-07-14 Impact factor: 6.543