Serum selenium and vitamin E concentrations in families of lung cancer patients.
Whether or not serum selenium and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) concentrations were changed was examined among healthy families of lung cancer patients. Family members as a whole (115 sons and daughters of 55 patients with primary lung cancer) were found to have a trend to lower serum selenium levels (0.116 +/- SD 0.024 microgram/ml, 0.05 less than P less than 0.1). Particularly among families of adenocarcinoma patients, the mean level was significantly lower (0.111 +/- 0.019 microgram/ml, P less than 0.05) than that (0.122 +/- 0.014 microgram/ml) in age-ratio matched controls who did not have cancer patients among their second-degree relatives. Serum vitamin E levels (11.85 +/- 2.85 micrograms/ml) were significantly lower among family members of adenocarcinoma patients than the controls (14.1 +/- 3.1 micrograms/ml, P less than 0.01). Serum selenium and vitamin E levels were significantly lower in lung cancer patients (n = 37, mean age, 63.9 +/- 11.2 yr) than in the controls (P less than 0.001). These data suggest that there are familial factors in serum selenium and vitamin E levels among families of lung cancer patients.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000235:genetics; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*; D012907:Smoking; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*
D014810:Vitamin E; D012643:Selenium