The Significance of Serum Selenium Level in Prostatic Diseases: Comparing Prostate Cancer Versus Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer among men and also a significant cause of mortality. Over one million new cases were diagnosed in 2020 and over 300,000 deaths from prostate cancer were recorded in the same year. Trace metals like Selenium have also been studied with respect to prostate cancer. The effect of selenium on angiogenesis, cell death, androgen receptor signaling has been a subject of research. We are comparing the serum Selenium (Se) levels of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer versus those diagnosed with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH). A total of 81 patients who gave their consent, and had lower urinary tract symptoms were recruited over a 6 months period. 40 patients had Benign prostate enlargement while 41 patients had prostate cancer. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for Se using Atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean age of respondents in this study was 60(9) and 62(9) for BPH and PCa respectively. The mean BMI was 25.81 (2.04).  The mean PSA of the BPH and PCa groups were 2(1) and 18(5) respectively P <0.001. The serum selenium level for those with BPH was 0.17 (0.07), while that for those with PCa was 0.14 (0.07) with a p-value of 0.073. In this study we found that serum Se was lower in patient with PCa compared with controls(BPH) but this difference was not statistically significant. The role of Se in prostate diseases and indeed prostate cancer still requires further research.