http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,815575,00.html

Cash crisis kills off trial of 'life-saver'

Robin McKie, science editor
Sunday October 20, 2002
The Observer

Plans to set up a major UK trial to assess the anti-cancer powers of selenium - a mineral hailed as a life-saver when added to food - have been scrapped by the country's leading provider of medical research funds.
The decision by the cash-strapped Medical Research Council (MRC) has incensed scientists, who now believe that increased dietary levels of the element provide protection against cancers, and other diseases.

They point to a recent US study which showed that people given selenium supplements had far fewer cases of prostate and lung cancer compared with those given placebos.

'People with boosted selenium levels were found to have 50 per cent less chance of dying of cancer compared with individuals who had poor levels - an utterly staggering result,' said Professor Gordon McVie, former director of Cancer Research UK.

'Yet no one in research funding in the UK wants to follow this up. It is appalling.'

Selenium is a key trace element in the human diet and is found in high levels in Brazil nuts and shellfish. British people also used to get substantial quantities from bread made from imported North American wheat. But in the Seventies, we switched to British and European wheat, which contains much less selenium.

Researchers say UK crops are selenium-deficient because, 10,000 years ago, melting ice caps washed the mineral from the soil while the nation's high rainfall has maintained this leaching effect.

'Selenium is a crucial component of key enzymes, the chemical workhorses of the body,' said Dr Margaret Rayman, of the Centre of Nutrition and Food Safety at Surrey University. 'If these enzymes are depleted, then the body suffers.'

This effect was recently demonstrated by Dr Martin Smith of Indiana University, who found that selenium helps activate a gene called p53, which makes a chemical that suppresses tumours. Those deficient in selenium are therefore likely to lack an important anti-cancer agent.

'Since 1974, the selenium levels in our blood have been dropping,' added Rayman. 'They are about half what they were in 1974, and well below recommended health levels.'

As a result, people may be more likely to suffer cardiovascular ailments, asthma, immune system disorders, infertility, miscarriages and cancer.

However, the most striking demonstration of selenium's efficacy was provided by Dr Larry Clark of Arizona University.

He found that, among 1,300 individuals previously treated for non-melanoma skin cancers, those given selenium supplements had their cancer death rates halved, compared with those given placebos.

These results were so dramatic that UK researchers prepared plans to establish a definitive follow-up. For the past 18 months, Rayman and her colleagues have been preparing a study in which 14,500 individuals would be similarly treated with supplements and placebos.

The six-year, £6million project was rated as 'alpha-a' - the highest possible rating for a research project - by two separate MRC boards of experts and endorsed by more than a dozen scientists who acted as referees for the project.

Scientists at Cancer Research UK also agreed to collaborate. 'I was given every indication by the MRC that the project was going to be given the go-ahead,' added Rayman. 'Then, a few weeks ago, I was told it had been dropped. I was devastated. Even worse, I have been told no money will be available next year either. This was our best chance to prove the life-saving potential of selenium, and we have lost it.'

McVie was even more incensed. 'You cannot walk away from the results uncovered in America. We have to follow them up. The trouble is that the MRC seems only interested in treating cancer, instead of trying to prevent it. That is utterly misguided.'

However, an MRC spokesman said it was council policy not to give reasons for failing to fund projects.

Now Rayman has begun a hunt to find other backers. 'Once we have conclusively established selenium's properties, we can think of raising levels in the national diet,' she added.

One idea would be to follow the example of Finland, where selenium-rich fertilisers are now used by farmers, increasing levels in foodstuffs.

'Of course, people could always take supplements, though that tends to exclude people in lower socioeconomic groups,' Rayman said. 'In addition, there is the risk of over-dosing.

'We need a final study to bring this to a careful, considered conclusion.'