I would like to think this thread can contribute to the quality of life of someone.
V
LEF Magazine June 1997
Selenium Is Found to Reduce Cancer Mortality by 50 Percent
Just last Christmas Eve was a memorable date for people who have been taking antioxidants to prevent disease. CNN and other networks reported on a study from the Dec. 25, 1996, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showing that selenium reduced cancer mortality in humans by 50 percent over a 10-year period of time. CNN carried a more extensive report and emphasized that Americans could buy in health food stores the selenium tablets used in the JAMA study.
In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration stated that selenium was toxic and should not be allowed to be sold freely. For the health freedom fighters who stopped the FDA from banning selenium, this report, published in the American Medical Association's own journal, is the ultimate vindication.
This study also vindicated the Life Extension Foundation's position on previous studies that failed to show that beta-carotene could prevent lung cancer in long-time smokers. The Foundation insisted that selenium in combination with beta-carotene would have lowered lung cancer risk. The new study showed a 46-percent reduction in the incidence of lung cancer in the selenium group, compared to the placebo group.
One of the unique findings of this study was that selenium reduced the risk of lung cancer to a greater degree than cessation of smoking.
The JAMA Study
The doctors who conducted the JAMA study began their paper by stating that, "Selenium compounds have been shown to have anti-tumorigenic activities in animal models when the drug is administered at levels greater than those associated with nutritional needs." (Note that a selenium compound is referred to here as a "drug.") Hypotheses as to why supplemental selenium inhibits the development of cancer, including the following:
Protection against free radicals
Alterations in carcinogen metabolism
Effects on hormone and immune systems
Inhibition of cancer-causing enzymes
Stimulation of apoptosis, i.e., programmed cancer-cell death
The doctors cited epidemiologic studies showing that human populations consuming high levels of selenium in their diet had significantly lower rates of cancer compared to human populations consuming low levels of selenium.
In the JAMA study of 1,312 randomized subjects ranging in age from 18 to 80, t here were no significant differences between the treatment and placebo groups prior to the study. Subjects were given a 200 mcg selenium supplement supplied by Nutrition 21. The placebo group received an identical-looking tablet without any selenium. Within six to nine months, the treatment group experienced an average 67-percent increase in plasma selenium levels.
It was noted that plasma selenium levels in the placebo group never fell to a deficient level. This calls into question the FDA's definition of "deficiency," since those with "normal" selenium levels had twice the rate of cancer. Doctors noted that previous studies showed that greater amounts of dietary selenium are needed to prevent cancer than the amounts the FDA says are adequate.
Results Of Study
Here are site-specific reductions in cancer incidence observed in the study:
Prostate cancer: 63-percent reduction
Colon-rectal cancers: 58-percent reduction
Lung cancer: 46-percent reduction
The overall reduction in cancer incidence was 37 percent in the selenium-supplemented group, and there was a 50-percent reduction in cancer mortality. This indicates that supplemental selenium reduces the risk of getting cancer and protects cancer patients from dying.
The doctors cited previous studies showing that selenium inhibits tumor growth and stimulates apoptosis in cultured tumor cells, writing that the results "support the hypothesis that selenium supplementation inhibits late-stage promotion and progression of tumors."
The doctors concluded, "For now, it is premature to change individual behavior, to market specific selenium supplements, or to modify public health recommendations based on this one study."
The Life Extension Foundation takes a more positive stance. This "one" study was initiated because there were several hundred previously published studies indicating that selenium may help to prevent cancer. Selenium is only one component of an overall cancer-prevention lifestyle.
Those concerned about their health should include 300 to 600 mcg a day of different forms of selenium as part of their overall cancer prevention program. In addition, it appears that supplemental selenium may contribute to cancer remission as well.
What Form Of Selenium Is Best
The JAMA study, showing a 50-percent reduction in human cancer mortality, used 200 mcg of an organic selenium compound. There long has been a debate among scientists whether organic forms of selenium, such as selenomethionine, are better than inorganic forms, such as selenite and selenate.
In 1983, the Foundation conducted an exhaustive review of the scientific literature, and then interviewed many of the scientists who had published papers on selenium. The results of the Foundation's analysis were the following:
There are specific and unique advantages to using both organic and inorganic forms of selenium. Some forms of selenium protect against certain forms of cancer better than others, and certain forms of selenium may slow premature aging better than others.
Combining selenite with Vitamin-C would neutralize the biological activity of the selenite. The selenate form of selenium is not as vulnerable to vitamin-C neutralization as selenite.
The three best forms of selenium to take on a daily basis are Selenomethionine: organic selenium bound to the amino acid methionine; selenodiglutathione: organic selenium bound to the amino acid glutathione; and sodium selenate: inorganic selenium that functions differently than the organic forms and is not significantly neutralized by Vitamin-C.
Prostate Cancer Update
Prostate cancer is the most hormone- sensitive cancer in man. While androgenic hormones (such as testosterone) secreted by the testes and adrenal glands are the most potent factors in promoting the vast majority of prostate cancer cell lines, the hormone prolactin may also contribute to the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. Studies have shown that prolactin may be involved in prostate growth, and a rising serum level of prolactin indicates progression in patients with advanced prostate cancer.
The presence of prolactin receptors in prostate cancer cells may facilitate the entry of testosterone into prostate cells. Since testosterone-blocking therapies do not completely eliminate testosterone from the blood, it is conceivable that prolactin could carry a small amount of residual testosterone into the prostate cells and cause cancer growth. Suppressing prolactin secretion with relatively safe prescription drugs thus appears to be another method of slowing the progression of prostate cancer.
In a study in the European Journal of Cancer (Vol 31A, No. 6, 1995), the use of a prolactin suppressing drug (bromocriptine) with flutamide and orchiectomy (surgical removal of the testes) resulted in a 61-percent suppression of primary prostate growth, compared with only a 48-percent reduction with orchiectomy and flutamide only. After 36 months, only 40 percent of the group receiving bromocriptine and orchiectomy/flutamide experienced disease progression, compared to 60 percent in the orchiectomy/flutamide-only group. Most prostate cancer patients, understandably, prefer taking the drug Lupron instead of undergoing orchiectomy. Lupron may be more effective than orchiectomy.
Prostate cancer patients should have their prolactin levels checked via a blood test. If your prolactin levels are elevated, you should consider one of the following prescription drug regimens. Remember that this is not intended to replace the attention/advice of a physician or other health care professional.
Bromocriptine, 5 mg one to two times a day; or
Pergolide, 0.25 mg to 0.5 mg twice a day; or
Dostinex, 0.5 mg twice a week
Check your prolactin levels again in 30 days to make sure the drug you choose is, in fact, suppressing prolactin release from the pituitary gland into your blood.
Dostinex is the newest and cleanest drug to use. Dostinex has fewer side effects than the older drugs, is more effective in suppressing prolactin than the older drugs, and requires dosing only twice a week.
Inducing Prostate Cancer Cell Death
Apoptosis, as noted, is programmed cell death. Cancer researchers are focusing on agents that induce apoptosis in cancer cells as the next generation of cancer drugs. Many of the nutrients in the Life Extension Foundation's cancer-treatment protocol, such as selenium, vitamin A, green tea and vitamin D-3, induce apoptosis in cancer cells.
The most effective nutrient available to induce apoptosis may be curcumin, an antioxidant extract from the spice tumeric that has a wide range of health benefits. Cancer patients should consider taking 2,000 to 4,000 mg a day of curcumin with a heavy meal. Curcumin has been shown to induce cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation, as well as block cellular signal transduction in a wide range of cancer cells. All these actions are characteristics of apoptosis according to an article in Nutrition and Cancer USA (26/1 1996). |
