Trace element concentrations in melanotic swine

A number of investigations have been made on the role of certain trace elements in oncogenesis. In prior work, it was found that manganese and zinc concentrations in human skin cancers differed markedly from the values in normal tissue.1 The purpose of the present research was to determine trace element concentrations in skin and other tissues of normal and melanotic miniature swine. In-vivo determinations of skin tissue were carried out using x-ray fluorescence analysis (XRFA) while tissue biopsies were measured using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). If significant differences between normal and cancerous skin tissues can be established, the former method should prove valuable as a rapid noninvasive diagnostic method