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Statistical Assessment of Toxic and Essential Metals in the Serum of Female Patients with Lung Carcinoma from Pakistan

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Abstract

Lung cancer (LC) is the number one cancer killer of women both in the USA and around the world. Besides cigarette smoking, an important feature in the etiology of LC is its strong association with exposure of toxic metals. The primary objective of the present investigation was to assess the concentrations of toxic/essential elements (Ni, Ca, Se, Zn, Co, K, Cr, As, Cu, Na, Fe, Hg, Cd, Mg, Mn, and Pb) in the serum samples of LC female patients with female controls by atomic absorption spectrometry after wet-acid digestion procedure. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was also measured in the serum of the patients using immunoradiometric method. Comparative appraisal of the data revealed that concentrations of Cr, Mg, Cd, Pb, Hg, As, and Ni were noted to be high significantly in serum of LC female patients, while the average Fe, Co, Mn, Na, K, Zn, Ca, and Se were observed at higher levels in female controls (p < 0.05). The correlation study revealed significantly different mutual associations among the elements in the both donor groups. Markedly, variations in the elemental levels were also noted for different types (non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer) and stages (I, II, III, & IV) of LC patients. Multivariate analyses showed substantially diverse apportionment of the metals in the female patients and female controls. Hence, present findings suggest that the toxic and essential metals accumulated in the body may pose a high risk for LC progression in Pakistani females.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the staff of the PINUM and Allied General Hospital, Faisalabad Medical University, Faisalabad, Pakistan, for their assistance during the study. Technical help by University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan, to execute this project is also acknowledged.

Funding

A. Irfan extends his appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia, for funding this work through research groups program under grant number R.G.P.2/44/40. In addition, the present study was supported by a Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan, through Startup Research Grant Program 2018-19 (Project # 1955).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Division of Science & Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan

    Muhammad Abdul Qayyum, Muhammad Yaseen & Mian HR Mahmood

  2. Department of Physics, Division of Science & Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan

    Zahid Farooq

  3. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha, 61413, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmad Irfan

  4. Research Center for Advanced Materials Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha, 61413, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmad Irfan

  5. Department of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, 50700, Pakistan

    Muhammad Nadeem Zafar

  6. Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center , Memphis, TN, 38163, USA

    Muddassir Khawaja

  7. Central Analytical Facility Division, Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), P.O Nilore, Islamabad, 45650, Pakistan

    Kashif Naeem

  8. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bartin University Kutlubey Campus Yazcilar, Merkez , Bartin 74110, Turkey

    Dursun Kisa

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  1. Muhammad Abdul Qayyum
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Correspondence to Muhammad Abdul Qayyum.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Ethical Review Committee, PINUM Faisalabad & Allied General Hospital, Faisalabad Medical University, Faisalabad REF. NO. UEFC/2018-S532 & UEFC/2018-S573 and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Qayyum, M.A., Farooq, Z., Yaseen, M. et al. Statistical Assessment of Toxic and Essential Metals in the Serum of Female Patients with Lung Carcinoma from Pakistan. Biol Trace Elem Res 197, 367–383 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01998-8

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