Trace elements might be associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the efficacy of chemotherapy against HCC. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association between trace elements and efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with HCC. Cancer, cancer-adjacent, and cancer-free tissues were collected intraoperatively from 55 patients with HCC between January 2001 and April 2004 at the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in Guangxi (China), a high HCC incidence area in the world. Trace element levels were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In vitro sensitivity of cancer cells to five chemotherapeutic drugs (5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, cisplatin, carboplatin, and mitomycin) was tested using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in cancer cells from 32 patients. Zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium levels had the same gradient distribution in different liver tissues: cancer < cancer-adjacent < cancer-free tissues. Copper levels of cancer tissues were negatively correlated with body weight (r = -0.278, P = 0.027), while manganese and selenium levels were negatively correlated with age (r = -0.297, P = 0.015; r = -0.285, P = 0.018, respectively). Simple correlation analyses revealed that the carboplatin sensitivity was negatively correlated with selenium levels of cancer tissues, while doxorubicin sensitivity was negatively correlated with manganese levels (r = -0.497, P = 0.004). Partial correlation analyses showed that doxorubicin sensitivity only was negatively correlated with manganese levels (r = -0.450, P = 0.014). These results suggest that the selenium and manganese content in primary HCC tissues could influence the response of the HCC cells to carboplatin and doxorubicin. These preliminary results provide a basis for future studies.
Keywords: Carboplatin; Doxorubicin; Drug sensitivity; Liver cancer; Manganese; Selenium; Trace elements.