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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by McPac on December 14, 2003, at 1:54:29
Daily articles from Reuters Health: breaking news on health issues, drug approvals and recent discoveries.
Selenium may raise skin cancer risk
Last Updated: 2003-10-01 15:41:54 -0400 (Reuters Health)NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In patients with a history of skin cancer other than melanoma, the use of selenium supplements does not appear to prevent the recurrence of two other types of skin cancer--basal cell and squamous cell cancer--and may actually raise the risk of squamous cell cancer, new research suggests.
The initial results from the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial reported in 1996 showed that selenium use did not influence the rate of nonmelanoma skin cancer in individuals who were at risk for this type of cancer. However, the new findings, which are based on three additional years of follow-up, suggest that use of the selenium, an antioxidant, may promote certain cancers.
These findings run counter to the results of animal studies that indicate a protective effect for selenium and other antioxidants (see Reuters Health story February 27, 1998).
The study, reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, involved 1312 patients with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer who were randomly assigned to receive daily supplementation with selenium 200 micrograms or placebo ("sugar pill").
In agreement with the initial results, selenium use was not associated with the risk of basal cell cancer, study author Dr. James R. Marshall, from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, and colleagues note.
However, use of the antioxidant seemed to raise the risk of squamous cell cancer, the researchers state. Selenium users were 25% more likely to develop this malignancy than nonusers.
These findings should be viewed along with the overall impact of selenium supplementation as a potential cancer-preventing agent, the authors note. Prostate cancer prevention trials that are now underway, including one testing selenium supplementation in men with precancerous cells in the prostate, "will help to clarify this overall impact," they add.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, October 1, 2003.
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Posted by Larry Hoover on December 14, 2003, at 9:46:36
In reply to Selenium may raise skin cancer risk ?, posted by McPac on December 14, 2003, at 1:54:29
> Daily articles from Reuters Health: breaking news on health issues, drug approvals and recent discoveries.
>
>
> Selenium may raise skin cancer risk
> Last Updated: 2003-10-01 15:41:54 -0400 (Reuters Health)
>
> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In patients with a history of skin cancer other than melanoma, the use of selenium supplements does not appear to prevent the recurrence of two other types of skin cancer--basal cell and squamous cell cancer--and may actually raise the risk of squamous cell cancer, new research suggests.I'd have to read the subject selection criteria and some other methodological factors, to really get into the nitty-gritty of this study, but....
1. All subjects already had a history of skin cancer. Generalization to people without a history of skin cancer is not reasonable.
2. The increased incidence was really quite modest (relative risk 1.25), but they didn't put the absolute incidence in the abstract, so it's hard to say what that increased risk translates into in terms of new cancers.
3. I see no obvious evidence that they looked at any other antioxidant systems in conjunction with selenium supps; vitamins C and E work in interaction with other antioxidants, and manipulating just one variable may give a distorted response.
4. The study had previously found non-significant increases in cancer recurrences (in the study period of 1983-1993), while increasing the followup period by three years (to 1996) produced the statistically significant differences between placebo and selenium supp groups. That's not a very dramatic finding.
Quite frankly, other than making good press, I don't quite see the how this study tells us very much about nonmelanoma skin cancer. The single best thing for anyone to do is to self-monitor, and report any skin lesions to a medical professional for assessment. Squamous cell skin cancer is easily treated, when treated early in the development of the lesions.
Just my opinionated two cents (or so),
LarHere's the abstract:
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Oct 1;95(19):1477-81.
Selenium supplementation and secondary prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer in a randomized trial.Duffield-Lillico AJ, Slate EH, Reid ME, Turnbull BW, Wilkins PA, Combs GF Jr, Park HK, Gross EG, Graham GF, Stratton MS, Marshall JR, Clark LC; Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Study Group.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
The Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to test whether selenium as selenized yeast (200 microg daily) could prevent nonmelanoma skin cancer among 1312 patients from the Eastern United States who had previously had this disease. Results from September 15, 1983, through December 31, 1993, showed no association between treatment and the incidence of basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. This report summarizes the entire blinded treatment period, which ended on January 31, 1996. The association between treatment and time to first nonmelanoma skin cancer diagnosis and between treatment and time to multiple skin tumors overall and within subgroups, defined by baseline characteristics, was evaluated. Although results through the entire blinded period continued to show that selenium supplementation was not statistically significantly associated with the risk of basal cell carcinoma (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.94 to 1.26), selenium supplementation was associated with statistically significantly elevated risk of squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.51) and of total nonmelanoma skin cancer (HR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.34). Results from the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial conducted among individuals at high risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer continue to demonstrate that selenium supplementation is ineffective at preventing basal cell carcinoma and that it increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma and total nonmelanoma skin cancer.
Posted by McPac on December 15, 2003, at 16:17:39
In reply to Re: Selenium may raise skin cancer risk ? » McPac, posted by Larry Hoover on December 14, 2003, at 9:46:36
Posted by stjames on December 15, 2003, at 19:31:55
In reply to Thanks Hoover! (nm)Selenium may raise skin cancer (nm), posted by McPac on December 15, 2003, at 16:17:39
only among individuals at high risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer: & that the reported risk is quite low.
Posted by McPac on December 15, 2003, at 22:04:53
In reply to Selenium may raise skin cancer BUT, posted by stjames on December 15, 2003, at 19:31:55
Thanks STJ!
Posted by noa on December 16, 2003, at 18:07:52
In reply to Selenium may raise skin cancer BUT, posted by stjames on December 15, 2003, at 19:31:55
Do risk factors for non-melanoma skin cancer include a parent who has had basal cell and squamous cell cancers? what about history of sunburns in childhood?
I wonder if this means I should go easy on the selenium.
Posted by stjames on December 17, 2003, at 13:59:09
In reply to Re: Selenium may raise skin cancer BUT, posted by noa on December 16, 2003, at 18:07:52
What are the risk factors in developing skin cancer?
People of any age may develop various types of skin cancer, although it is rare in children. It tends to occur more frequently in people with fair complexions and with light colored hair and eyes. Sun exposure is a major risk factor in the development of skin cancer. The damaging effects of the sun are cumulative. Even if you stay out of the sun now, you may be at higher risk for skin cancer because of sun exposure you have had in the past. Blistering sunburns, especially in children, are also a risk factor. Skin cancer is more likely to develop if there is a family history of the disease.
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