TURKISH JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 2002 , Vol 17 , Num 3
PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF SELENIUM IN BREAST CANCER
ORHAN TÜRKEN, AHMET SANAL, ŞÜKRÜ YILDIRIM, MUSTAFA YAYLACI, GÖKHAN KANDEMİR, SEZAİ DEMİRBAŞ, NECDET ÜSKENT
GATA Haydarpaşa Eğilim Hastanesi İç Hastalıkları, Tıbbi Onkoloji Servisi, İstanbul In most studies evaluating the etiopathogenesis of breast cancer, diet and selenium (Se) have been reported as risk factors. Se is a trace element and studies show that its plasma concentration is higher in breast cancer patients when compared with controls. However in some studies, there was no difference between the patients and controls. So, Se has not been proved as a risk factor in breast cancer etiopathogenesis. In our study, the concentration of Se was measured in the breast tissue specimens obtained from 15 patients with breast cancer. There was no statistically significant difference between the Se concentrations of the normal and cancer tissues. When the other risk factors (menopausal status, stage, histologic grade, body mass index, smoking, estrogen receptor status, histologic type) were compared with Se levels, the difference was not statistically significant. However there was considerable difference between Se concentrations of obese and nonobese patients. Keywords : breast cancer, selenium