Recent advances in clinical studies of selenium supplementation in radiotherapy

Background: Radiotherapy is one of the most important and common therapies for cancer patients. Selenium has been shown to be capable of reducing the side effects of radiotherapy because selenoproteins have anti-oxidative functions against reactive oxygen species that are induced by the radiation. They also function in DNA-repair and cytokine control. Purpose: We explored the benefits and risks of selenium supplementation in radiotherapy in our previous review to establish guidelines. In the current study, we expanded the search to cover recent advances in clinical studies of selenium supplementation in radiotherapy. Methods: We conducted an initial screening in the PubMed using the MeSH terms and keywords selenium, radiation, therapy, and radiotherapy using the same methodology applied in our previous review. We identified 121 articles published between January 2013 and December 2019. We then identified eight articles (six studies) on selenium and radiotherapy by excluding 113 articles. Results: In selenium supplementation studies, selenium doses of 300-500 mu g/day with duration of 10 days to 6 months were used. Selenium supplementation improved the selenium nutritional conditions of the patients and reduced the side effects of radiotherapy. Selenium supplementation did not reduce the effectiveness of radiotherapy, and no toxicities were reported. Conclusion: The results of our previous and current reviews showed that selenium supplementation offers specific benefits for several cancer types treated with radiotherapy. Here, we suggest a new guideline for selenium supplementation in radiotherapy. We recommend determining the selenium status of the patients before radiotherapy, and in cases of deficiency (<100 mu g/L serum selenium level), selenium supplement can be beneficial.