URINARY ZINC AND COPPER EXCRETION IN CANCER-PATIENTS

Although an elevation in urine zinc output is known to occur in cancer patients, little attention has been paid to urinary copper excretion. We have investigated urinary zinc, copper and neopterin, an index of systemic immune activation, in 40 patients with cancer. As expected, urinary zinc and neopterin were significantly higher in the patients than in the reference group (2.04 +/- 1.51 vs 0.56 +/- 0.37 mmol/mol creatinine, p < 0.001 and 453 +/- 510 vs 181 +/- 59 mumol/mol creatinine, p < 0.01, respectively). Urinary copper was also significantly higher in cancer patients (112 +/- 124 vs 33 +/- 20 mumol/mol creatinine, p < 0.01). A significant correlation between urinary zinc and neopterin (rs = 0.4881, p < 0.01), copper and neopterin (rs = 0.3296, p < 0.05) and zinc and copper (rs = 0.5714, p < 0.001) was observed. We conclude that similarly to zinc, urinary copper excretion is elevated in cancer patients. Elevated excretion of both trace elements appears to involve similar mechanisms and may be linked with systemic immune response.