Aluminum concentrations in central and peripheral areas of malignant breast lesions do not differ from those in normal breast tissues

BMC Cancer

Luis Otavio Sarian³  Jose Vassallo¹  Sophie F M Derchain³  Katia Piton Serra³  Juliana Karina Heinrich³  Stefanny Febraio²  Solange Cadore²  Raquel Mary Rodrigues-Peres³ 

[1]Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences-University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

[2]Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry-University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil

[3]Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medical Sciences-University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

关键词: Biohazard;    Atomic spectrometry;    Cancer;    Breast;    Aluminum;   

Others  :  1079886
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2407-13-104

 received in 2012-07-30, accepted in 2013-02-18,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Aluminum is used in a wide range of applications and is a potential environmental hazard. The known genotoxic effects of aluminum might play a role in the development of breast cancer. However, the data currently available on the subject are not sufficient to establish a causal relationship between aluminum exposure and the augmented risk of developing breast cancer. To achieve maximum sensitivity and specificity in the determination of aluminum levels, we have developed a detection protocol using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The objective of the present study was to compare the aluminum levels in the central and peripheral areas of breast carcinomas with those in the adjacent normal breast tissues, and to identify patient and/or tumor characteristics associated with these aluminum levels.

Methods

A total of 176 patients with breast cancer were included in the study. Samples from the central and peripheral areas of their tumors were obtained, as well as from the surrounding normal breast tissue. Aluminum quantification was performed using GFAAS.

Results

The average (mean ± SD) aluminum concentrations were as follows: central area, 1.88 ± 3.60 mg/kg; peripheral area, 2.10 ± 5.67 mg/kg; and normal area, 1.68 ± 11.1 mg/kg. Overall and two-by-two comparisons of the aluminum concentrations in these areas indicated no significant differences. We detected a positive relationship between aluminum levels in the peripheral areas of the tumors, age and menopausal status of the patients (P = .02).

Conclusions

Using a sensitive quantification technique we detected similar aluminum concentrations in the central and peripheral regions of breast tumors, and in normal tissues. In addition, we did not detect significant differences in aluminum concentrations as related to the location of the breast tumor within the breast, or to other relevant tumor features such as stage, size and steroid receptor status. The next logical step is the assessment of whether the aluminum concentration is related to the key genomic abnormalities associated with breast carcinogenesis.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Rodrigues-Peres et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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