STUDY ON THE CORRELATION OF TRACE-ELEMENTS IN HUMAN SCALP HAIR WITH ESOPHAGEAL CANCER BY PIXE

The concentrations of trace elements in human sca[p hair samples of patients with esophageal cancer, marked hyperplasia of esophageal epithelium (MHEE) and normal groups were analyzed by proton induced X-rav emission (PIXE). An imbalance of trace elements was found in the cancer group and in the MHEE group. The evident imbalance in the contents of some trace elements in hair from persons with MHEE has occurred prior to the canceration in esophagus. The Mahalanobis distance discriminant method was used in the statistical analysis. The combination of PIXE measurements for hair samples and statistical analysis is promising for the early diagnosis of esophageal cancer and for forewarning the persons with high risks.