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Efficiency of serum copper/zinc ratio for differential diagnosis of patients with and without lung cancer

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Abstract

We examined serum copper (Cu), serum zinc (Zn), and the serum copper/zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) in 162 patients. All of them were seen to have an abnormal shadow in the chest X-ray films, that is, 109 patients with lung cancer (LC) and 53 patients with no lung cancer (NLC). The mean Cu and Cu/Zn in LC patients were significantly higher than those in NLC patients (p<0.05). In LC patients, Cu and Cu/Zn were higher and Zn was lower in advanced tumors than early ones. There was a significantly clear relation between Cu or Cu/Zn and the tumor (T) stages. When the relative risk (RR) of LC was estimated, it was seen that the higher Cu and Cu/Zn became, the higher RR became. Furthermore, we showed the sensitivity of the receiver operator characteristic of the test (ROC) curve for Cu, Cu/Zn, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) to diagnose LC, as explained in a paragraph of methods.The determinations of Cu, Zn, and Cu/Zn are simple and inexpensive. They also appear to have a great diagnostic value in determining the local invasion of LC and as a screening test in the high-risk patients for LC.

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Author notes

  1. Tsunehiro Oyama

    Present address: Department of Surgery II, Fukuoka University, School of Medicine, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 807, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Tsunehiro Oyama, Koji Matsuno, Toshihiro Kawamoto & Yasushi Kodama

  2. Department of Surgery II, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 807, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Tsunehiro Oyama, Tetsuya Mitsudomi & Takayuki Shirakusa

Authors
  1. Tsunehiro Oyama
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  2. Koji Matsuno
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  3. Toshihiro Kawamoto
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  4. Tetsuya Mitsudomi
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  5. Takayuki Shirakusa
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  6. Yasushi Kodama
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Oyama, T., Matsuno, K., Kawamoto, T. et al. Efficiency of serum copper/zinc ratio for differential diagnosis of patients with and without lung cancer. Biol Trace Elem Res 42, 115–127 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02785383

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02785383

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