Trace Element Concentration Changes in Brain Tumors: A Review

Area of Science:

• Neuro-oncology
• Environmental Health
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Trace element levels are altered in various cancers, but brain tumor research is limited.
• Understanding these alterations is crucial for potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing literature on trace element concentrations in brain tumors.
• To identify gaps and inconsistencies in current research.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted on Google Scholar and PubMed up to January 2018.
• Included all brain tumor types and publication years, analyzing 11 relevant articles.

Main Results:

• Brain tumors showed higher concentrations of arsenic, thorium, lanthanum, lutetium, cerium, and gadolinium compared to controls.
• Tumor tissue exhibited increased magnesium, decreased copper, and variable zinc levels compared to adjacent tissue.
• Higher malignancy grades correlated with lower calcium, cadmium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur and higher mercury, manganese, lead, zinc.

Conclusions:

• Trace element profiles in brain tumors are heterogeneous across tumor types and malignancy grades.
• Existing data is insufficient for direct comparison due to methodological variations.
• Future research requires standardized methods, larger sample sizes, and comparisons across tumor types and control groups.