Meta-analysis of the association between selenium and gastric cancer risk

To clarify the effects of selenium level on the risk of gastric cancer (GC) and GC mortality, a meta-analysis was performed. Related studies were identified from PubMed, EMBASE, Springer Link, Ovid, Chinese Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM). Pooled ORs and 95% CIs were used to assess the strengthof the associations. A total of 8 studies including 17834 subjects were involved in this meta-analysis. High selenium level was associated with GC risk in case-control study (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.44–0.89, P = 0.009; I(2) = 52%) and cohort study (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.78–0.97, P = 0.01; I(2) = 25%). In addition, high selenium level was associated with GC mortality risk (OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.84–0.97, P = 0.006, I(2) = 49%). In summary, this meta-analysis suggested that selenium might inversely associated with GC risk and GC mortality.