Vol. 41 (6): 1101-1107, November . December, 2015 doi: 10.1590/S1677-5538.IBJU.2014.0460
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Serum Levels of Trace Elements in Patients with Testicular Cancers _______________________________________________ Mehmet Kaba 1, Necip Pirinççi 1, Mehmet Bilgehan Yüksel 2, İlhan Geçit 1, Mustafa Güneş 1, Murat Demir 1, HurremTuran Akkoyun 3, Halit Demir 4 Department of Urology,Faculty of Medicine,Yuzuncu Yıl University, Van, Turkey; 2 Department of Urology,Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey; 3 Department of Veterinaryand HealthSciences,Çiçekdağı VocationalCollege, Ahi Evran University, Kırşehir, Turkey; 4 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Scienceand Art,Yuzuncu Yıl University, Van, Turkey
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ABSTRACT ARTICLE INFO ______________________________________________________________
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Introduction: Trace elements are primary components of biological structures; however, they can be toxic when their concentrations are higher than those needed for biological functions. Materials and Methods: In the present study serum levels of trace elements were measured in 30 patients (mean age was 26.9±11.2 years) newly diagnosed with germ cell testicular cancer and 32 healthy volunteers (mean age: 27.4±10.8) by using furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Serum samples were stored at-20ºC until assays. Results: In patients with germ cell testicular cancer, the diagnosis was seminoma in 15, mix germ cell tumor in 7, embryonal carcinoma in 4, yolk sac tumor in 2 and teratoma in 2 patients. There was stage I testicular tumor in 19 patients (63.3%) while stage II in 6 patients (20.0%), stage IIIA in 4 patients (13.3%) and stage IIIC in one patient (3.4%). It was found that serum Co, Cu, Mg and Pb levels were increased (p