Selenium may prevent female bladder cancer

Increased levels of selenium may reduce a woman’s risk of bladder cancer by 34 per cent. Researchers from Dartmouth Medical School also report significant risk reductions for moderate smokers and people with a cancer related to a specific gene . Other studies have already reported similar association between selenium and bladder cancer among women, but the new results, published in the December issue of Cancer Prevention Research, are said to be the first to show an association between selenium and p53 positive bladder cancer.

Study measured selenium levels in the toenails of 767 people newly diagnosed with bladder cancer (76 per cent male, average age 62) and 1,108 people from the general population (61 per cent male, average ag 61). While no associations were found between selenium levels and bladder cancer risk for the whole population group, significant reductions in risk were found for women (34 per cent), moderate smokers (39 per cent) and those with p53 positive cancer (43 per cent).