Inorganic selenium retards progression of experimental hormone refractory prostate cancer

Abstract

PURPOSE: The development of hormone refractory prostate cancer marks the onset of the terminal phase of the disease. Despite the use of traditional chemotherapeutic drugs as well as many novel agents life expectancy is not significantly increased beyond palliative care alone. Selenium is a micronutrient that is incorporated into a number of essential enzymes and a minimum intake is necessary for the maintenance of health. In the last few years evidence has accumulated from case-control and limited randomized control data that supranutritional doses of selenium could inhibit the progression of prostate cancer. While much attention has focused on its use as a chemopreventive agent, its use as specific therapy has been limited. We hypothesized that dietary supplementation of selenium would inhibit the progression of hormone refractory prostate cancer in an experimental model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We established orthotopic PC3 tumors in the prostates of 6-week-old male nude mice and fed them a baseline selenium replete diet (0.07 ppm), supplementing intake with different forms of selenium (sodium selenate, selenomethionine, methylselenocysteine and selenized yeast) at 2 different concentrations (0.3 and 3 ppm) in drinking water.

RESULTS: Inorganic selenium (sodium selenate) significantly retarded the growth of primary prostatic tumors and the development of retroperitoneal lymph node metastases, which was associated with a decrease in angiogenesis.

CONCLUSIONS: High dose dietary supplementation of inorganic selenium inhibits the progression of hormone refractory prostate cancer, which is due at least in part to a decrease in angiogenesis.

 

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See also:

- Official Web Site: The Di Bella Method;

- The Di Bella Method (A Variable Part - Selenium methonine, 40 μg capsules, twice a day);

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Alpha tocopheryl acetate/Vitamin E, approximately 20 grams per day orally);

- Solution of retinoids in vitamin E in the Di Bella Method biological multitherapy;

- All-Trans-Retinoic Acid (ATRA - analogues and/or derivatives) - In vitro, review and in vivo publications;

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - All-Trans Retinoic Acid, Analogues and/or Derivatives - Approximately 60mg per day orally: 40mg per day Beta-Carotene/β-Carotene, 10mg per day ATRA and 10mg per day Axerophthol palmitate);

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Cyclophosphamide 50mg tablets and/or Hydroxyurea 500mg tablets, one or two per day);

- The Di Bella Method (DBM) in the treatment of prostate cancer: a preliminary retrospective study of 16 patients and a review of the literature;

- Somatostatin, retinoids, melatonin, vitamin D, bromocriptine, and cyclophosphamide in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients with low performance status;

- Somatostatin, retinoids, melatonin, vitamin D, bromocriptine, and cyclophosphamide in chemotherapy-pretreated patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma and low performance status;

- Observations on the Report of a case of pulmonary adenocarcinoma with lymph node, hepatic and osseus metastasis;

- The Synergism of Somatostatin, Melatonin, Vitamins Prolactin and Estrogen Inhibitors Increased Survival, Objective Response and Performance Status In 297 Cases of Breast Cancer;

- Complete objective response, stable for 5 years, with the Di Bella Method, of multiple-metastatic carcinoma of the breast;

- Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the first-line treatment with somatostatin combined with melatonin, retinoids, vitamin D3, and low doses of cyclophosphamide in 20 cases of breast cancer: a preliminary report;

- The Di Bella Method (DBM) improved survival, objective response and performance status in a retrospective observational clinical study on 122 cases of breast cancer;

- Complete objective response to biological therapy of plurifocal breast carcinoma.