Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24941118›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2014

Serum and tissue zinc in epithelial malignancies: a meta-analysis.

Jaromir Gumulec, Michal Masarik, Vojtech Adam, Tomas Eckschlager, Ivo Provaznik, Rene Kizek

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
51citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

51 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Zinc, copper, copper-to-zinc ratio, and other biometals in blood serum and tumor tissue of patients with colorectal cancer.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2025
    Article
  10. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and thyroid cancer.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2025
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
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  20. Study of Serum Zinc and Copper Levels and Tumor Pathology: A Pilot Study in People Affected with Head and Neck Cancers.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jaromir GumulecDepartment of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic.
Michal MasarikDepartment of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic.
Vojtech AdamCentral European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
Tomas EckschlagerDepartment of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Ivo ProvaznikDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic.
Rene KizekCentral European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectivesCurrent studies give us inconsistent results regarding the association of neoplasms and zinc(II) serum and tissues concentrations. The results of to-date studies using meta-analysis are summarized in this paper.

methodsWeb of Science (Science citation index expanded), PubMed (Medline), Embase and CENTRAL were searched. Articles were reviewed by two evaluators; quality was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa scale; meta-analysis was performed including meta-regression and publication bias analysis.

resultsAnalysis was performed on 114 case control, cohort and cross-sectional studies of 22737 participants. Decreased serum zinc level was found in patients with lung (effect size = -1.04), head and neck (effect size = -1.43), breast (effect size = -0.93), liver (effect size = -2.29), stomach (effect size = -1.59), and prostate (effect size = -1.36) cancers; elevation was not proven in any tumor. More specific zinc patterns are evident at tissue level, showing increase in breast cancer tissue (effect size = 1.80) and decrease in prostatic (effect size = -3.90), liver (effect size = -8.26), lung (effect size = -3.12), and thyroid cancer (effect size = -2.84). The rest of the included tumors brought ambiguous results, both in serum and tissue zinc levels across the studies. The association between zinc level and stage or grade of tumor has not been revealed by meta-regression.

conclusionThis study provides evidence on cancer-specific tissue zinc level alteration. Although serum zinc decrease was associated with most tumors mentioned herein, further--prospective--studies are needed.

Indexed as

EpitheliumFemaleHumansMaleModels, StatisticalNeoplasmsZincZinc

Identifiers

PMID24941118
PMCPMC4062461

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.