Open Access

Heavy metals interfere with plasma metabolites, including lipids and amino acids, in patients with breast cancer

  • Authors:
    • Ling Li
    • Meihua Zhang
    • Yuhao Men
    • Wei Wang
    • Weidong Zhang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 17, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11402
  • Pages: 2925-2933
  • Copyright: © Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between plasma heavy metals and the metabolome in patients with breast cancer (BC), and the association with cancer development. Nuclear magnetic resonance was used to determine the metabolites involved and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry system was used to quantify the heavy metals in the plasma samples. It was indicated that cadmium was significantly higher in the plasma of patients with BC compared with that in the control population (~15‑fold increase). Chromium, arsenic and lead were also elevated in the plasma of patients with BC by ~3.24, 2.14 and 1.52 fold, respectively. A number of small molecules, including amino acids and salts, were altered in the plasma of patients with BC compared with the control population. Another notable finding in this investigation was that plasma lipid levels were elevated in patients with BC compared with those in the control population. The findings of the present study suggest that exposure to heavy metals, including cadmium, arsenic, chromium and lead, may influence blood lipid levels and other small molecule metabolites, which in turn may be involved in BC development. Further studies surrounding urinary heavy metals and the metabolome are required to further determine the impact of metals on metabolism and on BC development.
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April-2020
Volume 19 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Spandidos Publications style
Li L, Zhang M, Men Y, Wang W and Zhang W: Heavy metals interfere with plasma metabolites, including lipids and amino acids, in patients with breast cancer. Oncol Lett 19: 2925-2933, 2020
APA
Li, L., Zhang, M., Men, Y., Wang, W., & Zhang, W. (2020). Heavy metals interfere with plasma metabolites, including lipids and amino acids, in patients with breast cancer. Oncology Letters, 19, 2925-2933. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11402
MLA
Li, L., Zhang, M., Men, Y., Wang, W., Zhang, W."Heavy metals interfere with plasma metabolites, including lipids and amino acids, in patients with breast cancer". Oncology Letters 19.4 (2020): 2925-2933.
Chicago
Li, L., Zhang, M., Men, Y., Wang, W., Zhang, W."Heavy metals interfere with plasma metabolites, including lipids and amino acids, in patients with breast cancer". Oncology Letters 19, no. 4 (2020): 2925-2933. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11402