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To the Editor: In his Editorial accompanying 2 randomized trials of antioxidant supplementation for prostate cancer prevention, Dr Gann¹ discussed the low numbers of deaths from prostate cancer in one of these studies, SELECT.² He stated that based on population death rates, 75 to 100 deaths from prostate cancer would have been expected, whereas only a single death was observed, noting that "[e]ven allowing for the requirement of a normal PSA [prostate-specific antigen] and rectal examination at entry, that is an enormous deficit in expected mortality."

Although there may in fact be such a deficit, it is not as enormous as those numbers imply. First, population death rates cannot simply be applied to the SELECT cohort, since by study protocol participants were free of diagnosed prostate cancer at entry. Population death rates are based on cohorts with a mix of prior prostate cancer diagnosis times, including those that would have . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Paul F. Pinsky, PhD
pinskyp@mail.nih.gov
Division of Cancer Prevention
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, Maryland

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