The Relationship between the Serum Level of Selenium and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Comparative Study in a Population of Nigerian Women

Abstract

Objective:To determine the relationship between the serum level of selenium and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).Methods:A case controlled study that compared the serum level of selenium in 45 women with CIN (cases) to 45 women (age matched controls) with normal cervical cytology. Socio-demographic data and information on known risk factors for cervical cancer among the sample was compared between both groups using inferential statistics.Results:There was no significant difference in the mean selenium values between the cases and controls [p- 0.076, 95% CI (-15.08 – 0.76)]. However, subgroup analysis showed a statistically significant difference between patients with normal cervical cytology, CIN I, II and III (p= 0.021). In addition, there was also significant difference in the selenium level between women with normal cervical cytology and CIN III (p value = 0.016) with a significant inverse linear trend (p= 0.025).Conclusion:With increasing severity of CIN, a significant reduction in the level of selenium in serum was observed. This reducing value of serum selenium, a surrogate marker for increased oxidative stress, may be important factor for the development of persistent HPV infection and in particular high grade CIN III lesions. This observation requires further research.

Efficacy of Oral Zinc Sulfate Supplementation on Clearance of Cervical Human Papillomavirus (HPV); A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

“…While comparing two groups, no statistically difference was reported in terms of mean serum zinc level before intervention (independent t-test; p-value=0.91), after intervention (p-value=0.187) and serum zinc (Borges et al, 2018;MeGhana et al, 2019;Obhielo et al, 2019;Sreeja et al, 2019;Barchitta et al, 2020). Moreover, zinc is proved to exert distinctive antiviral activity against a handful of viruses (Read et al, 2019) including but not limited to RSV (Suara and Crowe, 2004), HSV (Arens and Travis, 2000) , HIV-1 (Haraguchi et al, 1999) and HPV (Gibbs, 2003).…”

Therapeutic Potential of Selenium and Selenium Compounds in Cervical Cancer

“…Such a chemopreventive potential of Se was suggested by observational retrospective studies showing decreased Se status in cervical cancer patients or subjects infected with HPV as compared to healthy controls. 3 , 9 - 11 Although these studies do not provide evidence on the causative relationship between low Se status and increased risk of cervical cancer, and the only observational cohort study of relevant interest did not indicate any association between Se status and cervical cancer risk, 8 some promising data were revealed in the supplementation trial conducted by Karamali et al 36 This randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess the possible preventive activity of Se against the progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (CIN1), which is a premalignant lesion, usually associated with HPV infection. 50 In this study, 26 women with CIN1 were supplemented with 200 µg for six months and notably, Se supplementation was associated with higher CIN1 regression (88% vs. 56% in the placebo group, P = 0.01).…”

“…Since this type of cancer is a challenging clinical problem due to its high metastatic potential and resistance to therapy, effective treatment methods are highly required. Altough the possible preventive role of Se in cervical cancer is still under question (no association was shown in one prospective study 8 and there was no possibility of concluding the causative relationship based on case-control studies), 3 , 9 - 11 data from laboratory experiments conducted in cells and animals show that Se may be used in cervical cancer therapy. However these observations need to be further confirmed in clinical studies.…”

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have potent antitumor activity against prostate cancer cells through the upregulation of miR-16

“…Sixty-two patients were allocated to the AIPC group and while others were allocated to the ADPC cases. The serum selenium level was determined via graphite Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) as described in the previous report [11].…”