The Tucson-based University of Arizona Cancer Center received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance research on selenium supplementation, a type of dietary supplement, to clarify conflicting information about its link to cancer risk.
The five-year grant will help researchers dive deeper into a clinical trial to determine the benefits and harms of selenium supplementation. The clinical trial examines how selenium interacts with a person's diet to affect colorectal cancer risk and how genes may link selenium and colorectal cancer risk.
"The research funded by this grant has the potential to benefit patients worldwide," said University of Arizona President Robert Robbins, MD. "Since much of the foundational investigation of the links between selenium and cancer has taken place at the UA Cancer Center, it is appropriate that our researchers continue pursuing this work. We are all so excited and grateful for the innovative opportunities the National Cancer Institute has enabled with this investment."
Three previous clinical trials by investigators at UA Cancer Center studied the link between selenium and cancer, with mixed results. This study hopes to clarify this information.