The distribution of selenium in human blood samples of Israeli population--comparison between normal and breast cancer cases.

A preliminary study was carried out in order to compare the selenium concentration in breast cancer patients and healthy subjects (controls) in Israel. Blood serum samples were obtained from 32 breast cancer patients and 36 controls and were analyzed for selenium by the XRF method. A weighted mean of 0.076 +/- 0.014 ppm Se in the blood serum of breast cancer patients, as compared to 0.119 +/- 0.023 ppm Se for controls, was obtained. These results indicate that the concentration of selenium in breast cancer patients is significantly lower than in controls. The relationship between selenium concentration and malignancy stage shows an inverse dependence, i.e., the concentration decreases with stage number.