Selenium and lung cancer: a systematic review and meta analysis

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Selenium is investigated for lung cancer prevention and treatment.
• Conflicting results exist from large chemoprevention trials.
• Interactions with conventional lung cancer therapies are also examined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review selenium's efficacy and safety for lung cancer.
• To assess selenium's potential interactions with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of six databases (PubMed, EMBASE) up to March 2009.
• Included RCTs, observational studies, preclinical studies, and case reports.
• Searched for interactions with chemo- or radiation-therapy up to October 2009.

Main Results:

• Chemopreventive effects of selenium depend on baseline selenium status.
• Selenium may reduce lung cancer risk in low-selenium populations (<106 ng/mL).
• Selenium may increase lung cancer risk in high-selenium populations (≥121.6 ng/mL).
• No significant impact on lung cancer odds (OR 0.93) or all-cause death (OR 0.93).
• Selenium may reduce cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and radiation therapy side effects.

Conclusions:

• Selenium might be effective for lung cancer prevention in individuals with low selenium status.
• Current evidence does not support general use of selenium for lung cancer prevention.
• More research is needed on selenium's role in reducing treatment toxicity while maintaining efficacy.