Plasma, hair and tissue levels of trace elements in lung cancer

The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship between plasma , hair and tissue levels of selenium, zinc and copper, and cancer. We selec ted a total of 33 patients affected by lung cancer. They entered into the s tudy at the onset of disease, and before any chemical or radiotherapy. Cont rols were randomly selected among healthy people and were matched for sex, age and BMI. Patients exhibited significantly lower plasma Se and Zn levels , but higher plasma Cu. Hair metals content was not significantly modified in patients compared to controls. Measures of trace elements in lung tissue s showed interesting modifications according to the unit used to express re sults. By expressing contents per wet weight, all the tree examined element s showed a significant enhancement in cancerous tissues compared to normal ones. By expressing results per dry weight, the trace elements accumulation was less evident, although still significant. Interestingly, both the Se/K , Zn/K and Cu/K ratios and the ratio to DNA did not significantly differ in healthy tissues compared to cancerous ones.