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Jeremy Moore
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A study published in the December issue of Cancer Prevention Research,
a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests
that selenium, a trace mineral found in grains, nuts and meats, may aid
in the prevention of high-risk bladder cancer. Researchers from
Dartmouth Medical School compared selenium levels in 767 individuals
newly diagnosed with bladder cancer to the levels of 1,108 individuals
from the general population. Findings showed an inverse association
between selenium and bladder cancer among women, some smokers and those
with p53 positive bladder cancer.
In the entire study population, there was no inverse association
between selenium and bladder cancer, but women (34 percent), moderate
smokers (39 percent) and those with p53 positive cancer (43 percent)
had significant reductions in bladder cancer with higher rates of
selenium.
"There are different pathways by which bladder cancer evolves and it
is thought that one of the major pathways involves alterations in the
p53 gene," said corresponding author Margaret Karagas, Ph.D., professor
of community and family medicine of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at
Dartmouth. "Bladder cancers stemming from these alternations are
associated with more advanced disease."
While other studies have shown a similar association between
selenium and bladder cancer among women, this study is one of the first
to show an association between selenium and p53 positive bladder cancer.
"Ultimately, if it is true that selenium can prevent a certain
subset of individuals, like women, from developing bladder cancer, or
prevent certain types of tumors, such as those evolving through the p53
pathway, from developing, it gives us clues about how the tumors could
be prevented in the future and potentially lead to chemopreventive
efforts," Karagas said.
Karagas hopes to replicate these findings on a larger scale in order
to examine the connection between selenium and bladder cancer in women
and those with p53 tumors, as well as with patient prognosis.
Source: American Association for Cancer Research
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