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Essential Nutrients in Carcinogenesis pp 465–472Cite as

Mechanisms of Selenium Inhibition of Tumorigenesis

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Abstract

Numerous experiments have demonstrated that selenium supplementation to the diet at modest and nontoxic levels is an effective inhibitor of mammary tumorigenesis in mice and rats. In mice, selenium is most effective during the early stages of tumorigenesis, in particular the events surrounding the induction and expression of the preneoplastic transformation. Whereas selenium is an effective chemopreventive agent, there is little data to support its role as an effective therapeutic agent. The mechanisms of selenium-mediated inhibition of tumorigenesis have not been established. However, the available data suggest that selenium does not act by way of the principal selenoprotein in the cell, glutathione peroxidase, nor does selenium inhibit lipid peroxidation. A number of different mechanisms to explain the inhibitory effects of selenium are discussed; however, definitive answers await further experiments.

Supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service grant CA-11944 from the National Cancer Institute.

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Abbreviations

GSH-Px:

glutathione peroxidase

MMTV:

mouse mammary tumor virus

DMBA:

7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene

HAN:

hyperplastic alveolar nodule

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, 77030, USA

    Daniel Medina

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  1. Daniel Medina
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Comparative Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute, Frederick Cancer Research Facility, Frederick, Maryland, USA

    Lionel A. Poirier

  2. Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Paul M. Newberne

  3. Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Michael W. Pariza

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Medina, D. (1986). Mechanisms of Selenium Inhibition of Tumorigenesis. In: Poirier, L.A., Newberne, P.M., Pariza, M.W. (eds) Essential Nutrients in Carcinogenesis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1835-4_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1835-4_33

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9025-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1835-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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