Background: Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers around the world and more than 80% of patients within 5 years of diagnosis lose their lives. Selenium is a micronutrient that known for its nature of the anti- viral , anti- cancer, and antioxidant. Selenium levels in its sources depend on soil and environment. Considering the anti- cancer properties of selenium, this study aimed to examine the relationship between selenium and lung cancer.

Materials and Methods: Scopus, Pubmed, Google scholar and ScienceDirect databases were searched.

Results: Selenium may be effective for lung cancer prevention among individuals with lower selenium status. Lower selenium level in lung tissues can be a potential risk factor for lung cancer. Selenium dioxide could significantly inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells through inducing apoptosis . Serum selenium level in lung cancer patients was inversely related to the stage of cancer, decreased with cancer progression and increased with disease remission.

Conclusion: Our results show that dietary selenium intake is associated with reduced risk of lung cancer and as a natural product can be effective in the treatment and prevention of this disease. Selenium is suggested to be anticarcinogenic and play a role in the cellular defense against oxidative stress.