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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Jul 16:5:12249.
doi: 10.1038/srep12249.

Serum and hair zinc levels in breast cancer: a meta-analysis

Xiujuan Wu  1 , Jing Tang  2 , Mingjun Xie  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Serum and hair zinc levels in breast cancer: a meta-analysis

Xiujuan Wu et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Many studies have investigated the association between serum/hair zinc levels and breast cancer, but the results were inconsistent. To compare the serum and hair zinc levels in women with breast cancer and controls, we conducted a systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase to identify relevant studies with publication dates up through November 2014. Based on a random effects model, summary standard mean differences (SMDs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to compare the serum and hair zinc levels in women with breast cancer and controls. Fourteen studies that investigated serum zinc levels and seven studies that assessed hair zinc levels were included. Our study observed no difference in serum zinc levels between breast cancer cases and controls (SMD (95%CI): -0.65[-1.42, 0.13]). However, we determined that hair zinc levels were lower in women with breast cancer compared with those of controls (SMD (95%CI): -1.99[-3.46, -0.52]). In conclusion, this study was the first to provide evidence that hair zinc levels in female breast cancer patients are lower than in controls; however, there was no significant difference in serum zinc levels between female breast cancer patients and controls.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart of study selection
Figure 2
Figure 2. Forest plot showing the meta-analysis outcome of the serum zinc levels for breast cancer patients versus healthy controls.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Sensitivity analysis for studies in serum zinc for breast cancer patients versus healthy controls.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Publication bias for studies in serum zinc for breast cancer patients versus healthy controls.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Forest plot showing the meta-analysis outcome of the hair zinc levels for breast cancer patients versus healthy controls.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Sensitivity analysis for studies in hair zinc for breast cancer patients versus healthy controls.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Publication bias for studies in hair zinc for breast cancer patients versus healthy controls.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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