The
Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial, or
SELECT, was a
clinical trial conducted with the goal of determining whether
vitamin E and
selenium supplements could prevent
prostate cancer. Enrollment for the trial began in 2001 and ended in 2004. It cost approximately $114 million to conduct and was performed at over 400 different research centers. It was primarily funded by the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) and was carried out by
SWOG. It was stopped early because the supplements did not show any benefit in preventing prostate cancer. Subsequent research based on the trial has generally found that selenium and vitamin E do not prevent prostate cancer.