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อ่านฉบับภาษาไทยได้ที่นี่
Lacking nutrient in our diets may
explain poorer breast cancer survival
A new study of breast cancer patients has shown that women with the lowest blood levels of a trace element called selenium also had the lowest chance of surviving their disease, whereas those with higher selenium levels fared better.
 If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, your chances of surviving are significantly greater if you have enough selenium in your blood, according to a new study [1] that is published in the scientific journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. The study looked at 546 Polish women who had been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Immediately after their diagnosis, the women were divided in four groups (quartiles) according to how much of the trace element selenium they had in their blood. |
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Low selenium, lower survival
 The scientists then followed the women from the time of diagnosis until their eventual death (nearly four years on average). They found among the women who had the lowest selenium levels in their blood that 68.1% were still alive after five years, while the survival rate after the same number of years was 82.5% among those with the highest levels of the micronutrient in their blood. In other words, the higher the selenium status, the better the odds of surviving.
Most peoples’ diet lacks selenium
Most people are unaware of the importance of selenium, yet this single micronutrient is essential for human health. It is required for the functioning of more than 25 different selenium-dependent proteins (selenoproteins) in the body. The selenoproteins control our immune system, and they also play a role in cancer prevention by counteracting the DNA damage that can lead to tumor growth.
The selenium content in the food in a large number of countries is rather low compared with countries such as the United States. An average person gets around 40-50 micrograms per day from the diet, whereas the diet in certain parts of America can easily provide twice that much or more. |
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Documented in earlier studies
Several studies have already underpinned selenium’s role in cancer prevention. A Swedish study2 from 2012 of 3,146 breast cancer patients found those those with the highest selenium intakes prior to receiving their diagnosis had a 31 percent higher chance of surviving compared with those with lower intake levels.
Years earlier, in 1996, an American scientists named Larry C. Clark from the University of Arizona published a study3 showing that daily supplementation with 200 micrograms of organic selenium yeast lowered the risk of prostate cancer by 63%, colorectal cancer by 58%, and lung cancer by 46%.
Nearly 90% absorption
 Selenium yeast was used for the study, as this form of selenium has superior absorption compared with other selenium types, especially inorganic selenium. A Danish company has developed a unique selenium yeast that contains over 20 different organic selenium species. Documentation shows that the body absorbs 88.7% of the selenium content in this preparation, which is why it has been used in several clinical trials, for instance the groundbreaking KiSel-10 study from 2013 that is published in the International Journal of Cardiology. |
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Why supplement?
 Selenium is a natural trace element, which plants absorb from the soil. We humans get our selenium by eating these crops or the meat of animals who have consumed them. Europe is a low-selenium area because of the limited amount of this vital trace element in agricultural soil. In large parts of Europe the average intake of selenium is less than half of what experts believe is an adequate intake.
1. Serum selenium levels predict survival after breast cancer
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2017, October 17 (published ahead of print)
2. Selenium intake and breast cancer mortality in a cohort of Swedish women.
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2012;134:1269-77.
3. Effects of selenium supplementation for cancer prevention in patients with carcinoma of the skin. A randomized controlled trial. Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Study Group.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 1996, Dec. 25;276(24):1957-63
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