Impact of Essential and Toxic Trace Elements on Cervical Premalignant Lesions

Bacground/Objectives: Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) comprises a range of precancerous cervical lesions, and timely detection and intervention are essential to avert the development to invasive cervical cancer. Our previous study showed specific elemental alterations in the serum of patients with diagnosed CIN. In this study, we aimed to determine the levels of trace elements (Be, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Cd, Tl, Pb, Rb, Sr, Mo, Th, and U) in more valuable materials, cervical tissue samples collected from patients diagnosed with CIN 2 and 3 (n = 60). Methods: The control group consisted of healthy, pathologically unaltered samples from the same patients (n = 60). The concentrations of all trace elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Key demographic and clinical data were statistically analyzed in the context of trace element levels in cervical tissues. Results: We discovered that CIN 2 and CIN 3 tissues had significantly higher concentrations of essential trace elements Cr, Co, Se, and Mo, and toxic trace elements Be, Ni, and Cd compared to controls. The findings of this study highlight the differences in trace element concentrations in CIN tissue samples compared to controls. Conclusions: The presented results suggest the possible role of trace elements in the pathophysiological processes that lead to neoplasms in cervical tissues. The results provide initial and pivotal insight into the trace element concentrations in CIN tissues, which could aid further studies regarding cervical neoplasms and their pathogenesis.