Written by Gabriele Dennert and the CAM-Cancer Consortium.
Updated November 10, 2010

Selenium supplements for cancer prevention and treatment

Abstract and key points

  • Selenium is an essential trace element.
  • Claims that selenium prevents cancer are not supported by evidence from randomised controlled trials.
  • The role of selenium in treatment of cancer and treatment/prevention of therapy-associated adverse effects is unclear.
  • Selenium is toxic in high doses and might exhibit adverse effects when taken at supranutritional doses for a longer period of time.

The trace element selenium is a nutrient essential to humans. Although a number of health conditions have been linked to selenium deficiency, selenium is also toxic in large doses.

This summary deals with the use of selenium for the prevention and treatment of cancer or the adverse effects of conventional cancer therapy.

A large number of selenium-containing medications, nutritional supplements or dietary foods are available for medical purposes, which either contain selenium alone or selenium in combination with other trace minerals and vitamins. Both inorganic (e.g. sodium selenite or selenate) and organic forms (e.g. selenomethionine) of selenium are used.

Supplemental selenium has been promoted as being capable of preventing and treating cancer or adverse effects of conventional cancer therapy.

Cancer prevention: Two prevention trials found that selenium yeast did not exhibit cancer-preventive effects in women from selenium-replete areas. There is also no evidence that L-selenomethionine prevents prostate cancer or non-melanoma skin cancer in men from selenium-replete areas.

Cancer treatment: One trial found an increased rate of remission in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma receiving CHOP therapy plus selenium. However, it is unclear how generalisable the findings of this trial were, as it was conducted in a resource-poorer setting, using a chemotherapy regimen not considered to be the standard treatment in most European countries.

Adverse effects: Long-term supplementation has caused symptoms of chronic overexposure. Long-term supplementation has also been linked to increased risks of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Citation

Gabriele Dennert, CAM-Cancer Consortium. Selenium [online document]. http://www.cam-cancer.org/CAM-Summaries/Dietary-approaches/Selenium. November 10, 2010.

Document history

Summary is currently being updated.
Summary first published in November 2011, authored by Gabriele Dennert.

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