Relationship between Trace Elements Levels and Lung Cancer Patients in Southern Iraq

Background: Our life relies on our ability to use all sorts of materials, like trace elements, in the world for our needs. The using of heavy metals has greatly contributed to the comfort of our everyday lives. Blood is directly affected by poisoning when such metals are inhaled from environments where heavy metals occur in high levels. Research is constantly advancing our knowledge of the connection between various trace elements and disease, particularly cancer, since the effects of heavy metals on human health remain a serious health concern.

Objective: The objective of this work is to establish levels of a range of elements in human blood, serum and hair samples of patient undergo lung cancer comparing with control (healthy persons) so that potential exposures can be better identified in future cases.

Methods: Elements concentrations including As(arsenic), Ba(barium), Co(cobalt), Li(lithium), Mg(magnesium), Mn(manganese), Mo(molybdenum), Rb(rubidium), Sr(strontium) and Ti(titanium) was analysis used MS ICP (an inductively coupled plasma atomic absorption spectrophotometer).

Results: Test found that Mn has substantially (p<0.05) high concentration in three tissues including whole blood, serum, and hair of patients with lung cancer (291,487.2,68.03) ug / l respectively. In comparison as occurs in the lowest concentration. Sr was 77.5ug / l, Rb 41.6ug / l, and Ba 35.2ug / g. On other hand, Co, Li, Mg, Mo and Ti were found in low levels ranged 1.7-5.5 ug/l, in whole blood of patients. Hair samples accumulated the lowest concentration of As, Ba, Co, Mg, Mn and Rb. When we compare the concentration of trace elements between lung patients and control samples, that clear most of the elements accumulate at high levels in lung cancer patients. Result found significantly high As, Ba, Co, Mg, Mo concentration in whole blood and serum of lung cancer patients, in contract, Li, Mn and Rb occur in high levels in whole blood of control sample. Even as hair of control samples have elevated levels of As, Sr and Ti. However, concentrations of trace elements in the whole blood of smokers and non-smokers showed that all ten elements accumulated at elevated levels in the blood of smokers relative to non-smokers. Spearman correlation found significantly positive correlation among trace elements in the blood of patients with smoker lung cancer and non-smokers.

Conclusion: The study conclude that trace metals level in smokers persons are elevated than non-smokers. The findings of this study lend some support to the link between heavy metals pollution and lung cancer cases.