Selenium Linked to Lower Skin Cancer Risk
Lee Swanson Research UPdate
Higher blood levels of selenium may reduce the incidence of skin cancer by about 60%, according to an eight-year community-based follow-up study.
Writing in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the researchers report that the mineral was associated with reduced risks of both basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
The highest average selenium levels of between 1.3 and 2.8 micromoles per liter were associated with a 57% reduction in the incidence of BCC and a 64% reduction in the incidence of SCC, compared to the lowest average selenium levels of between 0.4 and 1.0 micromoles per liter.
"Relatively high serum selenium concentrations are associated with an approximately 60% decrease in subsequent tumor incidence of both BCC and SCC," wrote the researchers.
Selenium is a trace element that occurs naturally in the soil and is absorbed by plants and crops, from where it enters the human food chain—either directly or through consumption of meat and other products from grazing animals.
The mineral is included in between 50 and 100 different proteins in the body, with multifarious roles including building heart muscles and healthy sperm. However, cancer prevention remains one of the major benefits of selenium, and it is the only mineral that qualifies for an FDA-approved qualified health claim for general cancer reduction incidence.
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 18(4):1167-1173, 2009
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