Antioxidants & Cancer
A low-dose antioxidant supplement lowered the risk of cancer in men, but not women, in a study on more than 13,000 healthy French adults aged 35 to 60.

All participants took a placebo or a daily capsule containing vitamin C (120 mg), vitamin E (66 IU), betacarotene (10,000 IU), selenium (100 mcg), and zinc (20 mg). After nearly eight years, researchers found a 31 percent lower risk of cancer and a 37 percent lower risk of dying (of any cause) in men. The supplement had no effect on the risk of heart disease or on any illness in women.

What to do: It makes sense for everyone to take a multivitamin-and-mineral to make sure they get the Daily Values for most nutrients. The researchers speculated that the antioxidants didn't help the women in this study because they were getting enough antioxidants in their food.
Arch. Intern. Med. 164: 2335, 2004.

Selenium & Colon Cancer
Selenium may reduce the risk of colon cancer, say researchers who re-analyzed three trials on more than 1,700 people who had already had one precancerous colon polyp.

The studies were designed to see if wheat bran and other high-fiber foods could prevent new polyps (They didn't). When researchers checked blood selenium levels, they found that people who had higher levels when the studies began had a 34 percent lower risk of precancerous colon polyps than those with lower levels.