Trace elements; copper, zinc and selenium, in breast cancer afflicted female patients in LAUTECH Osogbo, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: There is an indication of the possibility of the direct or indirect influence of trace element in the development and prevention of malignant diseases, the contribution of the trace elements in the etiology of breast cancer has been under scrutiny. AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the serum concentration of trace element in serum of female patients with breast cancer in comparison with healthy controls. SETTINGS: Breast Clinic of the Department of Surgery LAUTECH University teaching hospital Osogbo, in south-western Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional age matched controlled prospective study wherein the venous blood sample of 30 patients with breast cancer and 30 healthy volunteers as controls were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The collected data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS Inc) 16. RESULT: The mean serum concentration of the copper, zinc and selenium were 95.3 ± 4.9 ug/dl and 65.2 ± 15 ug/dl, 62.7 ± 15.7 ug/dl and 93.5 ± 7.2 ug/dl, 45.0 ± 4.6 ug/l and 76.4 ± 8.9 ug/l in the two groups respectively. The concentrations of copper and copper-zinc ratio (C/Z) were significantly higher in the cancer bearing group compared to the controls (C/Z 1.6 ± 0.5 against 0.70 ± 0.14 the P < 0.01). The concentration of zinc and selenium in the venous blood of the breast cancer patients showed inverse relationship while that of the control showed a direct relationship (-0.03 against 0.09). In the breast cancer patients the correlation of copper and zinc, copper and selenium and zinc and selenium showed inverse relationships, none of the relationships was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We found a significant association between the serum concentration of trace elements and breast cancer.

Chemopreventive and anti-leukemic effects of ethanol extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves on wistar rats bearing benzene induced leukemia.

Pharmacological exploitation of natural compounds has continued to lead to development of non-synthetic and non-toxic anticancer agents that are promising at ameliorating the menace of neoplastic diseases such as leukemia. This study is an attempt to determine the chemopreventive and antileukemic activities of ethanol extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves on benzene induced leukemia bearing rats. Leukemia was induced by intravenous injection of 0.2 mL benzene solution 48 hourly for 4 weeks in appropriate rat groups. Ethanol extract of Moringa oleifera (EMO) leaves was administered at 0.2 mL of 100 mg/mL to respective treatment rat groups. A standard antileukemic drug (cyclophosphamide) was also used to treat appropriate rat groups. Clinical examination of liver and spleen with hematological parameters were employed to assess the leukemia burden following analysis of the rat blood samples on Sysmex KX-21N automated instrument. Leukemia induction reflected in severe anemia and a marked leukocytosis over the control/baseline group. Liver and spleen enlargements were also observed in group exposed to benzene carcinogen. The in vivo antioxidative potential of EMO was evaluated using Malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. The liver MDA and GSH levels obtained in benzene induced leukemic rats treated with EMO compared favorably with those obtained in similar treatments with the standard drug (p< 0.05). The extract demonstrated chemopreventive and anti-leukemic activities as much as the standard anti-leukemic drug (p>0.05) by ameliorating the induced leukemic condition in the affected rat groups owing to its bioactive constituents. This study reveals that the extract might be an active, natural and non-toxic anticancer drug lead.