May 21, 2003 (Journal of the National Cancer Society) -- Higher serum selenium levels appear to be associated with a reduced risk of progression toward esophageal cancer among people with Barrett's esophagus, according to a new study.
Rebecca E. Rudolph, M.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, and her colleagues examined 399 people with Barrett's esophagus and found that people with higher concentrations of selenium in their blood were less likely to have increased 4N fraction, aneuploidy, and high-grade dysplasia-three markers of cancer progression. These individuals also were less likely to have lost the portion of chromosome 17 that contains the p53 tumor suppressor gene.
The authors suggest that "selenium might reduce cancer risk among persons with Barrett's esophagus by preventing the inactivation of p53 or by preventing further neoplastic progression after p53 has been inactivated."
