Selenium in rice and esophageal cancer

The recent publication on “Selenium levels in rice samples from high and low risk areas for esophageal cancer”1 is very interesting. Rahimzadeh-Barzoki et al,1 reported that “high soil and rice selenium levels may play a possible role in the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer.” Rice is the main food source for millions of the world’s population. It is routinely consumed in Asian countries. The problem of contamination in rice is widely discussed. The present report implies the important consideration of selenium and possible relationship to cancer problems in Iran.1 Nevertheless, it should be noted that there are many other possible contaminations that are not well studied in the present report, those contaminants could also cause cancer. A good example is arsenic,2 which is an important contaminant found in many Southeast Asian countries. Monitoring for contaminants in rice and estimation of cancer risk should be checked routinely, and should be an important policy for promoting rice safety.2