Investigation of the effects of chemotherapy on trace element contents in the nails in patients with colorectal cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cancer treatment with chemotherapy for the trace elements in nails of patients with colorectal cancer. The contents of trace elements in the nails of 102 patients with colorectal cancer (including treated and untreated) and 60 healthy subjects were analyzed using k0-standardization method of neutron activation analysis. All participants aged between 32 and 76. Result of this study showed that the contents of nine trace elements (As, Br, Co, Cr, Hg, Fe, Sc, Se, and Zn) in the nails were measured. Furthermore, this study showed that there was significant difference in the contents of the elements Fe, Se, and Zn in both colon and rectal cancer patient groups between untreated and treated subjects with chemotherapy. We conclude that the contents of Fe, Se, and Zn in the nail samples may be used to evaluate of the colorectal cancer risk, and they may be affected by chemotherapy.