Comparative Assessment of Trace Elements in the Blood of Gastric Cancer Patients and Healthy Subjects

Gastric cancer (GC) remains one of the most common malignancies globally, particularly in developing countries. Environmental contaminants such as trace elements are known to involve in a plethora of diseases, including cancer. The present study was carried out to find out the imbalances in trace elemental levels (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in the blood of GC patients in comparison with and healthy donors. The blood samples were digested in a nitric acid-perchloric acid mixture. The elemental levels were quantified by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Significantly lower concentrations of zinc, iron, lead, cadmium, and chromium were found in the blood of GC patients than the controls. A correlation study revealed diverse relationships among the elements in the blood of cancerous patients and controls. Considerable variations in the elemental concentrations were observed with the gender, food habits, habitat, and smoking habits of the donors. Elemental contents revealed significant differences with the stages (I, II, III & IV) and types (adenocarcinoma & gastrointestinal stromal tumor) of GC patients. Multivariate analysis exhibited significantly divergent apportionment of the patients' elemental levels and healthy subjects, which may be linked with the altered metabolism of the elements in GC patients.