Higher selenium levels and folate intake associated with lower risk of colon cancer

In an article published in the most recent issue of the journal Nutrition and Cancer, researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill report that men and women with high serum levels of selenium and a greater intake of the B vitamin folate have a significantly lower risk of colon cancer.

The current study included 620 subjects with cancer and 1,007 individuals without the disease who participated in the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study, a case-control study of colon cancer in North Carolina between 1996 and 2000. Dietary questionnaire responses were analyzed for nutrient content, including folate, and stored serum samples were analyzed for selenium levels.

The researchers found that participants with selenium levels of 140 micrograms per liter or higher combined with an intake of folate that was at least 354 micrograms per day had half the risk of colon cancer than those with lower levels of both nutrients. Subjects with high serum selenium and low folate, low selenium and high folate, and low selenium and low folate experienced similar colon cancer risks. Separate analysis according to cancer stage produced similar results.

Although numerous studies have found protective benefits for either nutrient against cancer, the authors note that no other epidemiological studies have analyzed the interaction between folate and selenium in colon cancer risk. Deficiencies in either nutrient result in global DNA hypomethylation, which increases the risk of cancer. Additionally, folate and selenium have been reported to enhance an aspect of immune function, which could also help protect against the disease.

“Our findings suggest that it is important to take folate status into account when evaluating the relation between selenium and colon cancer in future studies,” the authors conclude.

—D Dye

March 25, 2009

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