title: Trace elements; copper, zinc and selenium, in breast cancer afflicted female patients in LAUTECH Osogbo, Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is an indication of the possibility of the direct or indirect influence of trace element in the development and prevention of malignant diseases, the contribution of the trace elements in the etiology of breast cancer has been under scrutiny.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the serum concentration of trace element in serum of female patients with breast cancer in comparison with healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Breast Clinic of the Department of Surgery LAUTECH University teaching hospital Osogbo, in south-western Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional age matched controlled prospective study wherein the venous blood sample of 30 patients with breast cancer and 30 healthy volunteers as controls were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The collected data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS Inc) 16.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean serum concentration of the copper, zinc and selenium were 95.3 ± 4.9 ug/dl and 65.2 ± 15 ug/dl, 62.7 ± 15.7 ug/dl and 93.5 ± 7.2 ug/dl, 45.0 ± 4.6 ug/l and 76.4 ± 8.9 ug/l in the two groups respectively. The concentrations of copper and copper-zinc ratio (C/Z) were significantly higher in the cancer bearing group compared to the controls (C/Z 1.6 ± 0.5 against 0.70 ± 0.14 the P < 0.01). The concentration of zinc and selenium in the venous blood of the breast cancer patients showed inverse relationship while that of the control showed a direct relationship (-0.03 against 0.09). In the breast cancer patients the correlation of copper and zinc, copper and selenium and zinc and selenium showed inverse relationships, none of the relationships was statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a significant association between the serum concentration of trace elements and breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, LAUTECH College of Health Sciences, PMB 4400, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Adeoti
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Oguntola
authors.forename: E O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Akanni
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Agodirin
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Oyeyemi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D012643:Selenium; D015032:Zinc