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To: Voltaire who wrote (25785)	7/18/2000 12:36:24 PM
From: Voltaire	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 35685

By Senior Medical Correspondent Dan Rutz (CNN) -- Evidence is mounting that selenium, a little-known trace element, can help protect against one of the most common cancers in men. Researchers at the University of Arizona have shown in preliminary studies that daily selenium supplements cut the rate of prostate cancer by more than half. Now, new research is under way to see if selenium might also help those who already have prostate cancer. The Rev. Lester Plattner, diagnosed three years ago, decided against surgery or other radical treatment. "I just didn't want to go through a series of shots and through radiation and anything like that," he said. "And if the Lord wants me, he knows where I'm at, and he can get me anytime he wants me." It is not unusual for men Plattner's age, 79, to forgo treatment for prostate tumors. Typically, such cancers diagnosed after age 70 are slow-growing. Proponents of what doctors call "watchful waiting" reason that many older men are likely to die of other causes before their cancer ever poses a threat. But Plattner is very much interested in improving the odds. As part of the "Watchful Waiting with Selenium" study, he is among 260 men helping researchers find whether selenium delays progression of prostate cancer. The volunteers are randomly prescribed one of four selenium dosages, or a placebo "dummy" pill, and are to be closely monitored for the five years. "I don't know whether I'm taking the pill or whether I'm taking sugar" says Plattner. "This is my contribution to society." Through patient interviews, examinations and blood tests measuring PSA -- an indicator of prostate cancer progression -- scientists will document any side effects, good or bad, of prolonged selenium use and any differences in the rate of cancer growth across the five groups. Selenium decreases prostate cancer rate Larry Clark, Ph.D., directs the selenium and cancer projects at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. He was in charge of a landmark 10-year study showing the incidence of prostate cancer was 63 percent less among those taking daily selenium supplements. "We've gone from knowing almost nothing about diet and prostate cancer to prostate cancer being the leading cancer that may be affected by diet, meaning we can do the most to prevent it if we find the right diet," Clark said. He points out that the same study showed selenium users had markedly less lung and colorectal cancer as well. More than a thousand men volunteered for the trial. The study, published in December 1996, caught the attention of many cancer researchers interested in the role diet and nutrition might play in preventing cancer. Suddenly, Clark says, he had company in his selenium research. "I think it was a surprise for everyone that selenium would have such a major effect on the prostate," he said. Since then scientists have been looking for possible explanations for selenium's apparent good effects. Clark cites a recent report describing a specific type of protein within the prostate that is very responsive to selenium intake. "This probably helps protect against oxidative damage there in the prostate." Selenium is a trace element found to a varying extent in soil. It enters the human diet through plants such as corn and through the meat of animals grazing on vegetation containing selenium. Products from selenium-rich soils of the Plains and Mountain States carry proportionately more selenium than those coming from the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Florida, where selenium soil concentration is low. Grains (especially from the Great Plains), fish, organ meats and Brazil nuts tend to be high in selenium. It is often included in broad-spectrum nutritional supplements. There is no official government nutritional guideline on selenium. Typical recommendations range from 70 to 200 micrograms a day.