Heavy metals effect on breast cancer progression.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Environmental Health
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Breast cancer incidence is higher in urbanized, industrialized regions, suggesting environmental factors play a role.
• Industrial pollution introduces heavy metals into soil, water, and food, potentially impacting human health.
• Effective primary prevention strategies for breast cancer remain elusive.

Purpose of the Study:

• Determine the chemical composition of breast cancer tissue.
• Evaluate DNA methylation levels in tumor cells.
• Assess the expression of prognostic receptors and link these indicators to heavy metal presence.

Main Methods:

• Atomic absorption spectrophotometry and energy-dispersion spectrometry for tissue chemical analysis.
• Immunohistochemistry to study Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), HER2/neu, p53, Ki-67, E-cadherin, and MGMT expression.
• Oscillating infrared spectroscopy for DNA extraction and investigation.

Main Results:

• Heavy metal concentrations in breast cancer tissue ranged from 51.21 × 10⁻³ to 84.86 × 10⁻³ μg/kg.
• Increased heavy metals correlated with higher expression of HER2/neu, p53, Ki-67, and MGMT, and decreased ER and PR expression.
• Elevated heavy metal levels were associated with increased pathological DNA methylation in tumor tissue.

Conclusions:

• Heavy metals promote breast cancer progression and decrease treatment sensitivity via various pathogenetic mechanisms.
• Tumor DNA methylation levels vary with heavy metal content, influencing prognostic receptor synthesis.
• Environmental heavy metal exposure is a significant factor in breast cancer development and progression.