Association between trace element concentrations in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues with the risk of gastrointestinal cancers in Eastern Iran

This study was conducted to investigate the association between trace elements including cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As) in gastrointestinal cancer tissue and non-cancerous tissue (suspected gastrointestinal cancer) in Eastern Iran. The samples of 63 gastrointestinal cancers (stomach (n = 20), esophageal (n = 19), and colorectal (n = 24) along with 63 controls in South Khorasan Province, Iran, were collected and analyzed using ICP-MS (Agilent 7900). Our results indicated that the concentrations of Co (1.3 ± 0.8, 1.3 ± 0.8 μg kg −1 ), Cr (8.1 ± 7.3, 11.0 ± 14.8 μg kg −1 ), Ni (29.0 ± 20.1, 39.5 ± 30.2 μg kg −1 ), Pb (6.9 ± 4.0, 6.1 ± 4.6 μg kg −1 ), and Zn (867.6 ± 159.1, 935.6 ± 196.2 μg kg −1 ) were significantly higher among esophagus and colon cancer cases than controls ( p < 0.05). Similarly, stomach cancer cases showed higher Co, Cr, Ni, Se, and Zn and lower Cu concentrations than their controls ( p < 0.05). Moreover, the Spearman correlation between metals revealed a mostly low to moderate correlation between metals. Our finding illustrated that the significant risk differences of Cr, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn metals on esophagus cancer when considered the single predictor unadjusted for other metals and covariates RD (95% CI) – Cr: −0.274 (−0.463, −0.086), Ni: −0.288 (−0.457, −0.118), Pb: −0.171 (−0.463, −0.086), Se: −0.243 (−0.434, −0.051), and Zn: −0.094 (−0.143, −0.045) respectively. This study suggests that the trace element’s exposure may be associated with gastrointestinal cancer risk. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying trace element carcinogenesis further.