SERUM TRACE ELEMENTS IN DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST MALIGNANCY

Authors

  • Burarah Arooj
  • Sameen Ahmed
  • Mahjabeen Saleem
  • Rukhshan Khurshid
  • Muddasar Zia

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease globally. The absolute risk of breastcancer increases with age and is higher in postmenopausal women. This study tried to find out role ofserum trace elements (cadmium, cobalt, copper and zinc) and biomarkers in diagnosis of breastmalignancy. Methods: Levels of serum trace elements were estimated by atomic absorptionspectrophotometry in serum samples of 23 breast cancer patients of stage III. Analysis of proteinpattern was observed by sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Results: Inmenstruating women, the mean serum level of cadmium, copper and cobalt were significantly loweredas compared to control, however, zinc showed no significant difference. In premenopausal andpostmenopausal women, the mean serum level of cadmium, copper, cobalt and zinc was decreasedsignificantly in patients as compared to controls (p<0.001). The ratio of Cu/Zn was also decreased inpatients when compared to controls. Three major peptide bands with molecular weights of 33 kDa, 52kDa and 185 kDa appeared in these samples when subjected to SDS PAGE. Conclusions: Serum traceelements are significantly lower in breast cancer patients compared to controls. The exact mechanismresponsible for the alterations in trace element levels in patients with breast cancer is unclear andrequires further evaluation. Gel electrophoresis may be important to find out breast cancer markers thatmay help in diagnosing the disease and response to treatment.Keywords: Metals, Breast Cancer, Protein Markers

References

Burson MA, Soliman AS, Ngoma TA, Mwaiselage J, Ogweyo P,

Eissa MS., et al. Clinical and epidemiologic profile of breast

cancer in Tanzania. Breast Disease. 2010;31(1):33–41.

Kakarala M, Rozek L, Cote M, Liyanage S, Brenner DE. Breast

cancer histology and receptor status characterization in Asian

Indian and Pakistani women in the U.S. -a SEER analysis. BMC

Cancer 2010;10:191.

Rehman F, Nagi AH, Hussain M. Immunohistochemical

expression and correlation of mammaglobin with the grading

system of breast carcinoma. Indian J Pathol Microbiol.

;53:619–23.

Ko AH, Dollinger M, Rosenbaum EH. Everyone’s guide to

cancer therapy. (Rev; 5th Eds.). USA: Andrew Mcmeel

Publishing 2008.p.473–514.

Ng EYK, Sree SV, Ng KH, Kaw G. The use of tissue electrical

characteristics for breast cancer detection: a perspective review.

Technology in cancer research and treatment. 2008;7(4):295–

Murali KC, Jacob K, Stanly M, Lakhmi R, Maheedhar K,

KalyanKK, et al. Raman spectroscopy of breast tissue. Expert’s

view of molecular diagnosiss. 2008;8(2):149–156.

Gudjonsson T, Jessen L, Villadsen R, Rank F, Bissell MJ,

Petersen OW. Normal and tumor-derived myoepithelial cells

differ in their ability to interact with luminal breast epithelial cells

for polarity and basement membrane deposition. J Cell Sci.

;115(1):39–50.

Provenzano PP, Inman RD, Eliceiri KW, Knittel JG, Yan L,

Rueden CT, et al. Collagen density promotes mammary tumor

initiation and progression. BMC Med 2008;6:11.

Martin MB, Reiter R, Pham T, Avellanet YR, Camara J, Lahm

M, et al. Estrogen-like activity of metals in MCF-7 breast cancer

cells. Endocrinology 2003;144:2425–36.

Siddiqui MK, Jyoti SS, Mehrotra PK, Singh K, Sarangi R.

Comparison of some trace elements concentration in blood,

tumor free breast and tumor tissues of women with benign and

malignant breast lesions, an Indian study. Environ Int

;32:630–7.

Majumder S, Chatterjee S, Pal S, Biswas J, Efferth T, Choudhuri

SK. The role of copper in drug-resistant murine and human

tumors. Biometals. 2009;22:377–84.

Laemmli UK. Cleavage of structural proteins during the

assembly of the head bacteriophage T4. Nature

;227(5259):680–5.

Ionescu JG, Novotny J, Stejskal V, Lätsch A, Blaurock-Busch E,

Eisenmann-Klein M. Increased levels of transition metals in

breast cancer tissue. Neuro Endocrinol Let 2006;27(1):36–9.

Cui Y, Vogt S, Olson N, Glass AG, Rohan TE. Levels of zinc,

selenium, calcium, and iron in benign breast tissue and risk of

subsequent breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and

Prevention. 2007;16:1682–5.

Saleh F, Behbehani A, Asfar S, Khan I, Ibrahim G. Abnormal

blood levels of trace elements and metals, DNA damage, and

breast cancer in the state of Kuwait. Biol Trace Elem Res

;141(1-3)96–109.

Rana SV. Metals and apoptosis: recent developments. J Trace

Elem Med Biol 2008;22:262–84.

Schrauzer GN. Interactive effects of selenium and chromium on

mammary tumor development and growth in MMTV-infected

female mice and their relevance to human cancer. Biol Trace

Elem Res 2006;109:281–92.

Silvera SA, Rohan TE. Trace elements and cancer risk: a review

of the epidemiologic evidence. Cancer Causes and Control

;18(1):7–27.

Klaudia B. Lysosomal Proteases: Revival of the sleeping beauty.

In: Saftig P (Ed). Lysosomes. New York: Springer; 2005.p. 50–9

Sedelies KA, Sayers TJ, Edwards KM, Chen W, Pellicci DG,

Godfre, DI, et al. Discordant regulation of granzyme H and

granzyme B expression in human lymphocytes. J Biol Chem.

;279:26581–7.

Beaujouin M, Prébois C, Derocq D, Matha VL, Masson O,

Pattingre S, et al. Pro-cathepsin D interacts with the extracellular

domain of the chain of LRP1 and promotes LRP1- dependent

fibroblast outgrowth. J Cell Sci 2010;123:3336–46.

Foekens JA, Look MP, Vries JB, Gelder ME, Putten WL, Klijn

JG. Cathepsin-D in primary breast cancer: prognostic evaluation

involving 2810 patients. Br J Cancer 1999;79:300–7.

Moelans CB, Weger RA, Ezendam C, Diest PJ. HER-

/neuamplification testing in breast cancer by Multiplex Ligationdependent Probe Amplification: influence of manual- and laser

microdissection. BMC Cancer 2009;9:4.

Owens MA, Horten BC, Da Silva MM. HER2 amplification

ratios by fluorescence in situ hybridization and correlation with

immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 6556 breast cancer tissues.

Clin Breast Cancer 2004;5(1):63–9.

Ross JS, Fletcher JA, Bloom KJ, Linette GP, Stec J, Symmans

WF, et al. Targeted therapy in breast cancer: the HER-2/neu gene

and protein. Mol Cell Proteomics 2004;3:379–98.

Florea AM, Büsselberg D. Metals and Breast Cancer: Risk

Factors or Healing Agents? J Toxicol 2011;

doi:10.1155/2011/15961

Published

2012-06-01

Most read articles by the same author(s)