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. 2023 Jun 2;15(11):2611.
doi: 10.3390/nu15112611.

Serum Essential Elements and Survival after Cancer Diagnosis

Jan Lubiński  1   2 , Marcin R Lener  1 , Wojciech Marciniak  2 , Sandra Pietrzak  1 , Róża Derkacz  2 , Cezary Cybulski  1   2 , Jacek Gronwald  1   2 , Tadeusz Dębniak  1 , Anna Jakubowska  1 , Tomasz Huzarski  1   2   3 , Milena Matuszczak  1 , Katherine Pullella  4   5 , Ping Sun  5 , Steven A Narod  5   6
Affiliations

Serum Essential Elements and Survival after Cancer Diagnosis

Jan Lubiński et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

In a prospective study, we measured the associations between three serum elements (Se, Zn and Cu) and the prognosis of 1475 patients with four different types of cancer (breast, prostate, lung and larynx) from University Hospitals in Szczecin, Poland. The elements were measured in serum taken after diagnosis and prior to treatment. Patients were followed from the date of diagnosis until death from any cause or until the last follow-up date (mean years of follow-up: 6.0-9.8 years, according to site). Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed for all cancers combined and for each cancer separately. Age-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression. The outcome was all-cause mortality. A Se level in the highest quartile was also associated with a reduced mortality (HR = 0.66; 95%CI 0.49-0.88; p = 0.005) in all-cause mortality for all cancers combined. Zn level in the highest quartile was also associated with reduced mortality (HR = 0.55; 95%CI 0.41-0.75; p = 0.0001). In contrast, a Cu level in the highest quartile was associated with an increase in mortality (HR = 1.91; 95%CI 1.56-2.08; p = 0.0001). Three serum elements-selenium, zinc and copper-are associated with the prognosis of different types of cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer; copper; laryngeal cancer; lung cancer; prostate cancer; selenium; survival; zinc.

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Conflict of interest statement

Jan Lubiński is the CEO of Read-Gene SA, which offers measurements on a micro-and macroelement level. These authors are part-time employees of Read-Gene: W.M., R.D., C.C., J.G. and T.H. The other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Five-year survival associated with three element levels in lung cancer subjects; (A) selenium, (B) zinc, (C) copper.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Five-year survival associated with three element levels in larynx cancer subjects; (A) selenium, (B) zinc, (C) copper.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Five-year survival associated with three element levels in breast cancer subjects; (A) selenium, (B) zinc, (C) copper.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Five-year survival associated with three element levels in prostate cancer subjects; (A) selenium, (B) zinc, (C) copper.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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