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| Studies have shown that the higher the level of selenium, the lower the incidence of rumor formation. The ability of selenium to effectively inhibit the incidence of chemically and virally induced tumors and to depress the growth of some transplantable tumors was strongly supported by this study. 51 Selenium, a trace mineral, must be used judiciously. Safe dosages can range from 50 to 400 mcg. Higher doses should be used only under the supervision of a qualified health care professional. |
| Selenium Therapy and Various Cancers |
| Oral cancer. Baseline selenium levels were evaluated in twenty-seven patients with precancerous lesions and nineteen patients with malignant oral cavity lesions as well as thirteen healthy controls. Mean serum selenium levels were 105, 101, and 77.03 mg/ml in the precancerous, control, and malignant groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the neoplastic, precancerous, and control groups. After clinical evaluation, precancerous patients received three four-week cycles of selenium in either the organic or the inorganic form at 300 meg per day. Of the twenty-two pre-cancerous patients entering the study, eighteen were available for evaluation for clinical response. Selenium levels tended to increase after the first and second cycles and then gradually returned to baseline values. At the end of the therapy there were two complete responses, five partial responses, six minor responses, and five stable diseases with an objective response of 38.8 percent. Progression after the therapy occurred in seven out of eighteen patients. Patients with malignant neoplasms had low selenium levels, whereas healthy controls and those with precancerous lesions both had higher selenium levels. These results suggest the need for longer treatment periods with selenium. Steady supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast may have allowed for a more rapid increase in maintenance of higher selenium levels. I conclude that these are encouraging results demonstrating the effect of selenium therapy in the treatment of precancerous dysplastic lesions of the oral cavity.52 |
| Ovarian canter. A study published in the January 1996 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute stated that serum selenium was associated with a |
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