Analysis of trace element levels in the nails in patients with colorectal cancer: Consider to the effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy

Abstract

Nails are considered as suitable biological materials for the diagnosis of diseases by measuring trace element levels. This study aimed to evaluate the role of trace elements in detecting the risk of colorectal cancer. Evaluating the effects of cancer treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy was also the aim of this study. The levels of trace elements in the nails of 104 patients with colorectal cancer and 112 healthy subjects were analyzed using the k0-standardization method of neutron activation analysis. The results showed that there were significant differences of the following elements, As, Fe, Hg, Sc, Se, and Zn between the control and the patient groups, while it was not the case for the elements Br, Co, and Cr. Furthermore, this study showed that there was no significant difference in the levels of the obtained trace elements in both colon and rectal cancer patient groups between untreated and treated subjects. We conclude that the levels of As, Hg, Fe, Se, and Zn in integrated samples of the fingernail and toenails may be used to evaluate the colorectal cancer risk, and they were not affected by chemotherapy or radiotherapy.