Ratios of selected chemical element contents in prostatic tissue as markers of malignancy

Abstract

The aim of the study was the development of new highly precise testing methods for early diagnosis of prostate cancer. For this purpose, the values of Ca/Al, Ca/B, Ca/Ba, Ca/Mn, Mg/Al, Mg/B, Mg/Ba, Mg/Mn, S/Al, S/B, S/Ba, S/Mn, Zn/Al, Zn/B, Zn/Ba, and Zn/Mn mass fraction ratios in normal (n=37), benign hypertrophic (n=32) and cancerous (n=60) human prostate gland were investigated using a combination of non-destructive and destructive methods: instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, respectively. Mean values ± standard error of mean (M ± SEM) for mass fraction ratios in the normal tissue were as follows Ca/Al 103 ± 21, Ca/B 4320 ± 805, Ca/Ba 2957 ± 577, Ca/Mn 2061 ± 325, Mg/Al 36.1 ± 4.1, Mg/B 1599 ± 239, Mg/Ba 1086 ± 227, Mg/Mn 776 ± 70, S/Al 319 ± 31, S/B 14749 ± 2166, S/Ba 9640 ± 1968, S/Mn 6991 ± 379, Zn/Al 41.3 ± 9.7, Zn/B 1974 ± 559, Zn/Ba 1003 ± 195, and Zn/Mn 875 ± 214, respectively. It was observed that in benign hypertrophic tissues the Ca/B, Mg/B, and S/B mass fraction ratios are lower than normal levels while the Mg/Al and Mg/Mn ratio are significantly higher. In cancerous tissue the values of all ratios investigated were significantly lower than in normal and benign hypertrophic prostate. It was shown that the Ca/Ba, Ca/Mn, Mg/Al, Mg/Ba, Zn/Al, Zn/B, and Zn/Ba mass fraction ratios are the most informative for a differential diagnosis among all investigated mass fraction ratios. Finally, we propose to use the (Ca/Ba)•(Mg/Al)•(Zn/Mn) and (Ca/Ba)•(Mg/Al)•(S/B)•(Zn/ Mn) multiplications of mass fraction ratios in a needle-biopsy core as the most informative indicators for distinguishing malignant from benign prostate. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of these tests were 100-9%, 100-2%, and 100-2%, respectively. Further studies on larger number of samples are required to confirm our findings, to study the impact of the chemical element contents on prostate cancer etiology and to examine the long-term pathological outcome.

ICP-MS analysis of diet supplementation influence on the elemental content of rat prostate gland

“…Results were compared with similar studies on human prostate. In general, obtained elemental content values were in the same order of magnitude as in Zaichick et al studies [23,37], as well as in Leitão et al study [26], except for Zn content, which was significantly higher in both authors' studies than in the presented research. These discrepancies can indicate significant differences between the Zn content in the rat and human prostate gland.…”

“…Comparative studies of elemental content in normal and cancerous prostate tissue were carried out in humans. Zaichick et al [37] compared prostate tissue taken from healthy men and from patients with adenocarcinoma and observed significantly lower levels of K, Na, Ca, and Mg in cancerous than in normal tissue. These results are partly in agreement with the presented study, where K, Na, Ca, and Mg levels were lower in experimental groups in case of the standard diet and for Na and Ca statistical significance of that difference was achieved.…”

A Systematic Review of the Chromium Content of the Normal Human Prostate Gland

“…It was also shown that levels of TEs in prostatic tissue, including chromium (Cr), can play a significant role in etiology of PCa [16][17][18][19][20]. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the changes of some TE levels and Zn/TE ratios, including Zn/Cr ratio, in prostate tissue can be used as biomarkers [21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

A Systematic Review of the Antimony Content of the Normal Human Prostate Gland

“…Moreover, it was demonstrated that the changes of some TE levels and Zn/Sb ratios in prostate tissue can be used as biomarkers [21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”