Correlation of trace elements in hair with colon cancer

The trace element content of 116 hair samples from patients with colon cancer and from referent series of patients who had a variety of other diseases were measured using proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE). The patients had been on largely uncontrolled diets, and the interest was whether there were differences in trace element concentrations attributable to the effects of colon cancer. The concentrations of K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, and Rb were determined using a beam of 2.5-MeV protons. Minimum detectable limits (MDL) of 0.3 ppM were obtained for Zn and Se. Cluster analysis of the data set did not reveal any significant differences between the cancer and control groups. Mean values and ranges obtained for the elemental concentrations show good agreement with other published determinations. 20 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs