A patient with advanced, treatment-resistant lung cancer became tumour-free after treatment with the selenium compound selenite. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Oncology and Therapy as a case report. The findings may contribute to increased knowledge about selenite as a possible cancer treatment.
In the published case report, a patient with advanced progressive lung cancer took part in a study in which selenite was given to patients with treatment-resistant cancer. After the treatment, the tumour disappeared, and the patient subsequently remained tumour-free for ten years. The researchers also observed that the tumour marker sPD-L1 decreased sharply during treatment, which may indicate that selenite helped activate the immune system against the tumour.
“The results are very promising, and the case is exceptional as the expected survival of this patient could only have been a few months at most, yet she survived tumour-free for ten years. This concerns only one patient, so no firm conclusions can be drawn until confirmatory studies involving larger groups have been completed,” says Ola Brodin , Associate Professor at the Department of Laboratory Medicine , Karolinska Institutet, and senior consultant at Karolinska University Hospital.
The research group is now planning a larger study to further investigate selenite as a treatment option for patients with advanced cancer.
“Selenite is inexpensive, the doses administered are free from side effects, and the drug is environmentally friendly. Its simplicity and the fact that selenium is inexpensive create opportunities for equitable healthcare globally, and significantly more patients could be offered this treatment if it proves effective in larger studies,” says Mikael Björnstedt , Professor at the same department at Karolinska Institutet and Head of Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics at Karolinska University Hospital, who is leading the work together with Ola Brodin.
The research group is also conducting the so-called SECAR studies together with Mattias Hedman , researcher at the Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, and Head of Radiotherapy at Karolinska University Hospital.
This news article is based on a press release from Karolinska University Hospital.
Publication
Brodin O, Moro CF, Hedman M, Aricak O, Szekerczés T, Grybäck P, Björnstedt M
Oncol Ther 2026 Aug;(). doi: 10.1007/s40487-026-00460-9
