ESTIMATION OF SERUM COPPER AND ZINC LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH ORAL CANCER

BACKGROUND Oral cancer ranks number one among men and number three among women in India. As micronutrients deficiencies are common in India and have been related to oral and upper aerodigestive tract cancers, it is considered to be necessary as well to study the impact of nutrients. The current study reported is an attempt to suggest a positive role of micronutrients in prevention of cancer. AIMS The study was conducted to estimate the serum levels of copper and zinc in patients with oral cancer and to compare these values among patients with oral cancer and normal subjects. STUDY DESIGN The study group consisted of 30 oral cancer patients and 30 normal subjects. MATERIALS AND METHOD Serum levels of copper and zinc were estimated using semi-auto analyser in 30 oral cancer patients and 30 normal subjects. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Data analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, V 10.5) package. One-Way Analysis of Variance were used to test the difference between groups and to find out which of the two groups means is significantly different post hoc test of Tukey test was used. In the above test, the "p" value of less than 0.05 was accepted as indicating statistical significance. RESULTS The mean serum levels of copper and Cu/Zn ratio were increased in oral cancer patients compared to normal subjects. The mean serum levels of zinc were decreased in oral cancer patients compared to normal subjects. CONCLUSION Serum levels of these trace elements maybe taken as prognostic markers of the disease progression in oral cancer patients.