Prostate cancer and selenium

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. Therefore, new approaches for the primary and secondary prevention of this malignancy are desperately needed. Chemoprevention, with selenium compounds, is a promising new approach that is presently under study. This article summarizes epidemiological data and intervention trial results with high selenium containing yeast that suggest that higher intakes of selenium may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In addition, we describe four studies underway at the Arizona Cancer Center designed to increase our understanding of the relationship between selenium and the risk of prostate cancer.