Plasma selenium concentration was assessed in 44 patients with cancer
of the gastrointestinal tract (19 subjects with stomach cancer and 25
with colon cancer) and 25 age-matched healthy control subjects. Seleni
um concentration was determined by the fluorometric method. The observ
ed plasma selenium concentrations in gastrointestinal cancer patients
(37.0 +/- 11.05 ng Se/ml or 38.4 +/- 12.6 ng Se/ml in stomach or colon
cancer patients, respectively) were significantly lower as compared t
o the healthy age-matched control group (51.4 +/- 14.4 ng Se/ml). The
diagnosed low selenium status may be considered as a high risk for can
cer development.