Campus Connection

Connecting the dots
(continued)

Some animal and cell culture studies support selenium as an anti-cancer substance, but how it works is unknown.

"Selenium appears to have protective effects that work through multiple mechanisms, but nobody can explain the specific mechanisms," Hawkes said.

One thing's for sure: Since the Journal of the American Medical Association study was published, sales of selenium supplements have skyrocketed.

This phenomenon served as the impetus for Hawkes' current study of the safety of selenium supplementation.

"We wanted to look at the potential toxic side effects in people who start popping selenium supplements trying to prevent cancer," he said.