Supplements May Boost Prostate Cancer Risk

Taking vitamin E or selenium pills could double some men’s risk of aggressive prostate cancer, a new study finds. This study took a closer look at some data from a large study that was stopped early, in 2008. Researchers stopped that study because men taking vitamin E pills showed an increased risk of prostate cancer. Selenium pills did not appear to affect prostate cancer risk in that study. The new study focused on 1,739 men from the earlier study who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. They were compared with 3,117 men without prostate cancer. This second group was matched to the first group by age and race. Researchers looked at men’s natural selenium levels, before they took any supplements. For men with high selenium levels, taking selenium pills in the study almost doubled their risk of aggressive prostate cancer.