Tissue Zinc Concentration in Prostate Cancer: Relationship with Prostate Specific Antigen and Gleason Score in a Cohort of Nigerian Men

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the commonest maliganacy among men of African descent. The possible role of trace elements like Zinc in its aetiogenesis and disease severity remains controversial. This paper aims to identify the relationship between tissue zinc concentration and the occurrence of prostate cancer. And to identify the relationship between the tissue zinc concentration and the disease severity (using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) and Gleason scores (GS)).Methodology: A cross-sectional study of 41 consecutive consenting men with histologically confirmed PCa and 41 age-matched controls. Toe-nail clippings were obtained from both groups and assayed for zinc using the Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique. Zinc concentrations were compared between cases and controls. A correlation analysis was performed to determine relationship between Zinc concentration and disease severity (PSA and GS). Results: Forty one men each were recruited in the Prostate cancer and control groups for this study. PCa group had a mean age of 72.83 ± 7.06 years while the control group was 70.73 ±6.40 years. There was statistically significant higher toe-nail Zn concentration among Prostate cancer patients than controls (P= 0.028, t=2.28, df=40). The mean PSA values among the Prostate cancer group was 46.10 ± 40.62ng/ml and mode GS was 8.There was neither a correlation between toe-nail Zn concentration and serum PSA levels (p=0.386) nor with the GS. Conclusion: This study found a statistically significant higher toe-nail Zn concentration among men with PCa compared with age-matched controls. There was however no correlation between toe-nail Zn concentration and the serum prostate specific antigen or Gleason score.