ArticleBiometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine2025
Zinc, copper, copper-to-zinc ratio, and other biometals in blood serum and tumor tissue of patients with colorectal cancer.
Article in Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Subtype-Specific Alterations in Copper Trafficking Associated with KRAS Mutations in Isogenic Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Plasma Copper and Zinc Levels in Ataxia-Telangiectasia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Profiling of macroelements and microelements in colorectal cancer patients and their clinicopathological characteristics.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- Synchrotron Radiation-Excited X-Ray Fluorescence (SR-XRF) Imaging for Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Specimens.Cancers · 2026Article
- Exploratory comparative profiling of 22 macro- and trace elements reveals disrupted elemental homeostasis in colorectal cancer tissues.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to assess serum and cancerous tissue biometal levels in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and its relation to disease severity. A total of 90 CRC patients and 97 controls were involved in the present study. The level of biometals in blood serum and colon tissues (only in CRC cases) was evaluated by inductively-coupled plasma mass-spectrometry. CRC patients are characterized by lower serum Ca, Fe, Se, and Zn, as well as higher serum Co, Cu, Mg, V, and Cu/Zn ratio compared to healthy controls. The lowest serum Zn levels and the highest Cu concentration and Cu/Zn ratio were observed in patients with the largest tumor size. Regression analysis demonstrated that tumor size is a significant negative predictor of serum Se levels, being positively associated with serum Cu/Zn values. The degree of metastasis to regional lymph nodes was inversely associated with circulating Ca, Co, Mg, Zn, and Mn levels. Serum Mg and Mn levels were positively associated with the stage of the disease and tumor location, respectively. Cancerous tissue Ca and Mo levels were lower, while Mg content was higher compared to healthy adjacent tissues. In cancerous tissues a constant but non-significant trend to elevation of tissue Zn content with increasing tumor size was observed. In addition, serum Cu, Zn, and Cu/Zn values positively correlated with the respective tumor values. These findings demonstrate that altered biometal metabolism is associated with CRC, while systemic Cu/Zn ratio may be indicative of Cu and Zn imbalance in cancerous tissue.
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