Effect of Subchronic Selenium Treatment in the Liver of BALB/C Mice with Transplantable Ehrlich Tumor.

Selenium has an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and possibly antitumoral action. Thus, we hypothesized that this element could be an ally in cancer treatment. We evaluated the effect of chelated selenium treatment of BALB/c mice with Erhlich Tumor on tumor size, histology, and biochemical parameters of the liver. A total of 96 male mice were treated for 7, 15, and 30 days with different doses of chelated selenium. During the 7 days of treatment, livers presented mild hydropic degeneration; after 15 days, the livers presented mild hydropic degeneration, inflammatory infiltrate, and steatosis, which was intensified in the animals treated for 30 days. Biochemical analysis showed an increase of the alanine transaminase enzyme in those animals, indicating hepatotoxicity. At the beginning of treatment, selenium was able to inhibit tumor growth. After 30 days of treatment, however, hepatotoxicity could be seen.