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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
13:04
Atomic Absorbance Spectroscopy to Measure Intracellular Zinc Pools in Mammalian Cells
Published on: May 16, 2019
Zinc in cancer prevention
Ananda S Prasad1, Frances W J Beck, Diane C Snell
1Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. prasada@karmanos.org
Nutrition and Cancer
|February 16, 2010
Summary
Zinc deficiency affects billions globally, impacting immunity and increasing cancer risk. Supplementation may help manage cancer by reducing inflammation and promoting cancer cell death.
Area of Science:
- Human Nutrition
- Cancer Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Zinc is essential for human health, with deficiency prevalent worldwide, affecting nearly 2 billion people.
- Zinc deficiency manifests as growth retardation, immune dysfunction, and cognitive impairment.
- Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are linked to cancer development.
Observation:
- 65% of head and neck cancer patients studied were zinc deficient.
- Zinc deficiency adversely affected Natural Killer (NK) cell activity and IL-2 generation.
- Zinc status was a better indicator of tumor burden and disease stage than overall nutritional status.
Findings:
- Zinc acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
- Zinc inhibits NF-kappa B, a key factor in cancer cell survival and proliferation.
- Zinc supplementation may decrease angiogenesis and inflammatory cytokines while increasing cancer cell apoptosis.
Implications:
- Zinc status is crucial in cancer patients, correlating with disease severity and infection incidence.
- Zinc supplementation shows potential for cancer management and chemoprevention.
- Further research is recommended to explore zinc's role in cancer therapy.
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