Environmental Risk Interaction With Serum Trace Elements Among Patients With Colorectal Cancer

By: Azmawati Mohammed Nawi (azmawati@ppukm.ukm.edu.my)

General risk factors do not fully explain variations in the incidence of complex disorders in cancers such as colon cancer. Epidemiological studies have implicated perturbations of trace elements in the etiology of a number of diseases including colorectal cancer(CRC). Environmental factors or human exposure, such as lifestyle, diet or comorbidity will interact with trace elements which will present in varying levels in different individuals. Changes in trace elements in the human body have been reported to lead to increased oxidative stress and reduced antioxidant response, which, in long term might progress to CRC development. Previous studies in western countries did not  focus on human exposure with trace element concentration. As some trace elements are more closely related to each other, this study investigates contribution of a particular group of trace elements towards CRC development.