Prostate cancer causes nearly 30,000 deaths each year, making it the second leading cause of death among men, behind lung cancer. In studying ways to maintain my health, one of the things I’ve read regularly is that adult men should take a selenium supplement. The RDA for selenium is 55 micrograms, but suggestions for protection against prostate cancer range up to even 200 micrograms, with the upper limit considered safe being 400 micrograms. Most Americans consume more than the RDA without supplements, due in part to our high consumption of meat and fish.
Evidence appears to be mounting against taking supplements, or at the very least, suggesting they aren’t effective. Over the course of the last several months, several results of studies of prostate cancer have been released showing no effect for several supplements. The first came in October, when a trial following selenium and vitamin E were halted. Four years into a seven year study, researchers saw an increase in the number of tumors for participants taking vitamin E, and a rise in the occurrence of adult-onset diabetes among participants taking selenium. Not exactly encouraging. In the same press release, a note regarding the effect of statin drugs on lowering PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels was observed, but researchers aren’t certain if this corresponds to a reduction in disease risk.
In another study, nearly 15,000 adult men were tracked for 10-years, with participants taking vitamins E and C. Researchers found no improvements in the rate of prostate cancer occurrence. In fact, neither supplement impacted cancer rates at all. Most of us have heard that vitamin E and vitamin C help protect against cancer, but this study seems to refute that idea. Of course, participants in the study were 50-year old doctors, so we may be able to assume that they followed different lifestyles than mainstream men.
Prostate cancer vaccine?
In a more encouraging study, researchers at the National Cancer Institute found encouragement in an attempt to stimulate an immune response through vaccination against prostate cancer. I think this holds promise, and has been used successfully against some other cancers, most notably with HPV. Hopefully this route will provide a more reliable way to reduce the occurrence of prostate cancer.
