Timing of Toenail Collection and Concentrations of Metals in Pancreatic Cancer. Evidence Against Disease Progression Bias.

ABSTRACT: Trace elements such as cadmium, arsenic, zinc or selenium increase or decrease risk of a wide range of human diseases. Their levels in toenails may provide a measure of mid-term intake of trace elements for studies in humans. However, in biologically and clinically aggressive diseases as pancreatic cancer, the progression of the disease could modify such concentrations and produce reverse causation bias. The aim was to analyze the influence of specific time intervals between several clinical events and the collection of toenails upon concentrations of trace elements in patients with pancreatic cancer. Subjects were 118 incident cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma prospectively recruited in eastern Spain. Toenails were collected at cancer diagnosis, and soon thereafter interviews were conduc

SUBMITTER: Pumarega J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8533671 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature