Diet, lifestyle, vitamins, minerals, medicine --- researchers have studied all of them as possible strategies to prevent prostate cancer. Though the disease usually grows slowly, prostate cancer is the No. 2 cancer killer of American men, behind only lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. One substance thought to have promise for prevention is the chemical element selenium. However, the early results of the SELECT prostate cancer study that included selenium left some doubts as to whether it really can help you.
About Prostate Cancer
Every man has a prostate, a walnut-sized gland beneath the bladder. It surrounds the urethra, a passageway for urine and semen, and manufactures some of the fluid that protects sperm cells. Prostate enlargement is common as you grow older and may cause urination difficulties. Prostate cancer is common, as well. Among men who live to age 80, 70 percent to 90 percent will have the disease to some degree and many will never know it, according to the American Cancer Society. But prevention efforts are worthwhile, especially since prostate cancer treatments can have effects on urination and sexual health.
About Selenium
Selenium is a nonmetallic trace element that you get from certain foods, such as rice, wheat, seafood, meat and Brazil nuts. It's also an antioxidant, a substance with potential for fighting cell damage in your body that can develop into cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, researchers focused on selenium as a possible way to prevent prostate cancer after the 1996 Nutritional Prevention of Cancer study, in which selenium was studied as a way to prevent skin cancer. It didn't, but among men in that study, there were about 60 percent fewer prostate cancer cases.
The SELECT Study
Those promising results led to the SELECT study, which stands for Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial. This National Cancer Institute study started in 2001, involved about 35,000 men and investigated whether selenium or vitamin E could reduce the risk for prostate cancer. But the NCI halted the study in 2008 amid concerns that the supplements not only might be ineffective at prevention but might be harmful. Men taking only vitamin E had a slightly higher risk for the disease, and those taking only selenium had a slightly higher risk for developing diabetes.
Recommendations
Though the SELECT study was stopped, researchers still are monitoring the men who took selenium supplements. The American Cancer Society still regards selenium as potentially helpful but advises you to consult your doctor before taking any supplements. According to the ACS, it's unclear whether you might reduce your risks with some other substances under study, including the drugs finasteride and dutasteride and a plant-based antioxidant chemical called lycopene. But you might be able to reduce your prostate cancer risk by eating less fat and red meat, and more fruits and vegetables, according to the ACS.
