Background: Cancer constitutes a major health problem worldwide. Thus, search for reliable and practical markers of the disease process remains the key issue of the diagnostic process.
Objectives: The study aims at linking the trace element status of an organism, assessed by hair analysis, with the occurrence of cancer diseases.
Material and methods: Hair samples were collected from 299 patients with cancer diseases confirmed by a histopathological test and from 100 controls. Cancer patients were divided into three groups, depending on cancer type: hormone-dependent cancer, cancer of the alimentary tract, and cancer with high glycolytic activity. Mineral element analysis of hair was performed using an atomic emission spectrophotometer with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Results: Statistically significantly lower concentrations of selenium, zinc, copper, germanium and boron, iron, and magnesium were observed in the three groups of cancer patients. Disturbance in the axis glucose-insulin and changes in concentrations of heavy metals and toxic elements were also noted.
Conclusions: It seems safe to conclude that our results confirmed usefulness of hair element analysis in screening tests for the assessment of the biomarker of various cancer diseases in a female population.