Diagnostic values of copper, zinc and copperzinc ratio compared to histopatho-logical examination in patients with breast tumors

Abstract EN

Trace elements copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) have a role in many biochemical reaction as micro source, their metabolism are profoundly altered in neoplastic diseases and since breast cancer rank the first of female cancers, this study aims to evaluate the diagnostic significance of copper / zinc ratio in 70 patients with breast tumor and compared to the grade and histopathological examination.

result had been shown that there is significant difference in level of zinc and copper and copper / zinc ratio between benign and malignant tumor and this difference persist to be present between different grade of malignant breast tumor and it had been found that copper / zinc ratio have diagnostic significance of 78.5% in discriminating between benign and malignant tissue and this had been increased to about 95.1% in differentiating between grade of malignant breast neoplasm.

So we conclude that copper / zinc ratio is higher in malignant breast tissue and could be a better indicator of grade of cancer.