Parity-Related Alterations in Zinc, Copper and Cobalt Levels Among Cervical Cancer Patients in Basrah, Iraq

Abstract

Trace elements play vital roles in various cellular metabolic processes, maintaining the balance between oxidants and antioxidants, and in carcinogenesis. This is a case-control study involving 90 married women in which estimatesthe levels of zinc, cobalt, and copper according to the number of children they had as a risk factor in the blood of cervical cancer patients compared to healthy controls.The data analysis was carried out using SPSS17 and expressed as mean ± standard deviation (x ± s).  The cobalt concentrations were markedly higher in patients (1.62 ± 0.15 µg/dL) than in controls (0.35 ± 0.04 µg/dL, p < 0.0001), with consistent significance across all subgroups. Similarlythe results demonstrated a significant raise of zinc levels in patients (2.55 ± 0.27 µg/dL) compared with controls (1.51 ± 0.25 µg/dL, p = 0.0009). Copper levels also showed an overall increasing trend in patients (0.39 ± 0.12 µg/dL) compared with controls (0.26 ± 0.16 µg/dL), though not all differences reached statistical significance. According to the outcomes, there is an imbalance in the levels of some trace elements, especially zinc and cobalt, in cervical cancer patients, which can serve as a biomarker for identifying the disease due to their role in accelerating the disease process.