Study: Selen does not protect against lung cancer

Reference

KARP DD, Lee SJ, Shaw Wright GL, et al. A randomized, double-blind chemo prevention study of phase III between groups for selenium (se) supplementation with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in stage I. j Clin oncol . 2010; 28: 18s.

Design

a double -blind, placebo -controlled study. The participants were randomized in a ratio of 2: 1 and received selenium yeast (200 µg daily) or placebo for 4 years

participant

1,522 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the stage IA and IB. The participants had undergone a surgical resection of their primary tumor, were cancer -free for at least six months after the operation, had no excessive vitamin supplements and had a normal liver function and a normal X -ray of the chest.

study medication and dosage

The patients took 200 µg selenium yeast for 4 years.

primary result dimensions

occurrence of a second primary tumor

most important knowledge

The study was canceled after the 4-year median because the participants who received selenium had a shorter progression-free survival (PFS) than the participants who took the placebo. Different recurrence rates occurred in less than 2.5 years. After 5 years, 28 % of those who experienced selenium had experienced their cancer, while only 22 % of those who had taken placebo, had suffered a recurrence of their cancer ( p = 0.15).

When the study was canceled, 4.1 % of the people who had selenium had developed a second primary tumor, while this was the case in only 3.7 % of the people in the placebo group. The overall survival was 5 % lower in the selenium group.

effects on practice

Approximately 80 % of the study participants were smokers, and just like in the Beta-Carotine study in 1996, the forecast protection against lung cancer failed.

Appropriate antioxidants in general seem to be so advantageous, Selenz can have a paradoxical effect and be dangerous for smokers.

Appropriate antioxidants in general seem to be so advantageous, Selenz can have a paradoxical effect and be dangerous for smokers.

preventive medical doctors have been big fans of selenium for years and often call Clark et al. From 1996 Nutritional Prevention of Cancer (NPC) as the reason for their use of selenium in cancer prevention. The NPC study examined 1,312 patients who had basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. They were randomized and received either 200 µg selenium yeast or placebo and were observed from 1983 to 1991. Although no difference was found in the recurrence of skin cancer, the study was canceled and the code was broken at an early stage; The participants, the selenium, had a lower risk of cancer (RR: 0.63; 95 %-KI: 0.47–0.85).

stranges et al. reported in 2007 about a double-blind study in which it was examined whether 200 µg selenium would prevent type 2 diabetes per day. No benefit was seen. Rather, participants who reached the highest selenium mirrors in the serum rather developed.

in 2008 Reid et al. About a small (n = 425) study that took place in Georgia and in which the participants took 400 µg selenium per day. They saw no change in cancer rates.

The effect of selenium on cancer is not as easy as we once thought. This current study by Karp et al. suggests that selenium offers no protection against second lung cancer; It can actually increase the risk, at least with a population of current and former smokers.

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