ArticleGut2012
Pancreatic cancer risk and levels of trace elements.
Article in Gut, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 128 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cadmium Exposure and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.La Medicina del lavoro · 2026Pooled it
- Dose-response relationship of cadmium and pancreatic cancer risk: a meta-analysis.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Passive smoking and risk of pancreatic cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.PeerJ · 2024Pooled it
- Carcinogenic effect of arsenic in digestive cancers: a systematic review.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2023Pooled it
- Toenails as a biomarker of exposure to arsenic: A review.Environmental research · 2021Pooled it
- New Hope for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Treatment Targeting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2018Pooled it
- The Role of BRCA2 Mutation Status as Diagnostic, Predictive, and Prognosis Biomarker for Pancreatic Cancer.BioMed research international · 2016Pooled it
- Cadmium exposure and risk of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and case-control studies among individuals without occupational exposure history.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2015Pooled it
- A dietary-wide association study (DWAS) of environmental metal exposure in US children and adults.PloS one · 2014Trial
- Lead and cancer: a narrative review and risk of bias assessment (2003-2020).Reviews on environmental health · 2026Review
- Trace Elements in the Pancreas: From Physiological Homeostasis to the Pathogenesis of Diabetes, Pancreatitis, and Cancer-A Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The advent of precision nutrigeroscience in cancer: from clinic towards molecular biology.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Horn trace element profiles of managed rhinoceros species and comparisons to matched livers and wild African rhinoceros horns.PloS one · 2026Article
- Prediagnostic whole-blood cadmium and molybdenum associated with pancreatic cancer in an American cohort.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- The association between long-term PM2.5 exposure and risk for pancreatic cancer: an application of social informatics.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Blood lead levels and bladder cancer among US participants: NHANES 1999-2018.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Trace elements in pancreatic cancer.Cancer medicine · 2024Review
- Serum and tissue metallome of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.Cancer science · 2024Article
- Excess pancreatic cancer risk due to smoking and modifying effect of quitting smoking: The Multiethnic Cohort Study.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2024Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 9 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsKnowledge on the aetiology of exocrine pancreatic cancer (EPC) is scant. The best established risk factor for EPC is tobacco smoking. Among other carcinogens, tobacco contains cadmium, a metal previously associated with an increased risk of EPC. This study evaluated the association between concentrations of trace elements in toenails and EPC risk.
methodsThe study included 118 EPC cases and 399 hospital controls from eastern Spain. Levels of 12 trace elements were determined in toenail samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. OR and 95% CI, adjusted for potential confounders, were calculated using logistic regression.
resultsSignificantly increased risks of EPC were observed among subjects whose concentrations of cadmium (OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.86 to 6.88; p(trend)=5×10(-6)), arsenic (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.08 to 3.78; p(trend)=0.009) and lead (OR 6.26, 95% CI 2.71 to 14.47; p(trend)=3×10(-5)) were in the highest quartile. High concentrations of selenium (OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.15; p(trend)=8×10(-11)) and nickel (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.59; p(trend)=2×10(-4)) were inversely associated with the risk of EPC.
conclusionNovel associations are reported of lead, nickel and selenium toenail concentrations with pancreas cancer risk. Furthermore, the results confirm previous associations with cadmium and arsenic. These novel findings, if replicated in independent studies, would point to an important role of trace elements in pancreatic carcinogenesis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.