14 DAY TRIAL // According to new data obtained by researchers in Spain, it would appear the chemical element selenium can protect the human organism against bladder cancer.
In other words, selenium is very efficient in reducing people's risks of developing this condition. The chemical can be found naturally in trace amounts inside the human body.
Concentrations can be boosted by consuming foods like tuna and other fish, which apparently contain important amounts of the stuff, AlphaGalileo reports.
The team that conducted the investigation is based in Madrid, at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (SNCRC), and is lead by expert Dr Nuria Malats.
She discovered that the correlation between selenium levels and bladder cancer risk was especially valid for women. The expert adds that the work gains new importance when considering that an estimated 356,600 new cases are diagnosed every year.
Full details of the team's work appear in the latest issue of the esteemed scientific journal 'Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
For the study, the investigators analyzed selenium levels in test participants by looking at how much of the mineral they could find in the blood serum, and also in toe nail cuttings.
At this point, the team believes that the differences that exist between genders in quantifying cancer risk based on selenium intake are owed to the different ways in which men and women accumulate and excrete the mineral.
Selenium content is one of the main reasons why nutritionists recommend diets that are rich in nuts, cereals, meat, fish, and eggs. The mineral has been found to protect against several types of cancer.
“Although these findings suggest a protective effect of selenium for bladder cancer risk, additional large studies would be required to support these findings,” the team leader argues.
“Researchers have been struggling for years to pin down the protective effect of selenium against cancer – which types, how strong it is and how it works,” adds Dr Mark Matfield.
“This meta-analysis adds a new element to the field, with evidence that it may protect against bladder cancer, at least in women,” concludes Matfield, who is a spokesman for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).