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Zinc is vital for the metabolism of Vitamin A and has important roles in many of the body's systems, including its immune functions, maintaining the integrity of sense organs, reproduction, mental function and wound healing. People with cancer may have an increased need for zinc, and anorexics may not receive adequate dietary sources of zinc. Zinc supplementation may reduce copper absorption, while various foods interfere with zinc absorption, including soya, cow's milk, iron supplements, wholewheat bread and bran. A dosage of 15-30 mg elemental zinc is totally safe for people with cancer. Zinc should be taken separately from other supplements and not with food.
Prevention
and Treatment of Cancer: Zinc
Despite the fact that zinc in certain circumstances can be a tumour
promoter, the following studies indicate that zinc may play an important role in
prevention, treatment and adjuvant (in combination with chemo- or radiotherapy)
cancer treatment, and that zinc deficiency may be contributory factor to cancer
development.
Brooks, in an editorial states that whereas many physicians have overlooked the
value of adding zinc chloride tissue fixation prior to micrographic surgery, due
to a lack of randomized clinical trials, that nevertheless, historic control
data indicate a survival benefit in the treatment of cutaneous melanoma. Three
possible mechanisms are:
1) prevention of release of viable cells into circulation
during surgery,
2) avoidance of disruption of clinically invisible satellite
deposits, and
3) stimulation of a local inflammatory reaction and possible
immune response.
Doz and colleagues,
University of California, San Francisco investigated zinc's ability to decrease
the toxicity of carboplatin (a cytotoxic drug) without impairing its activity
against brain tumors. The high-zinc diet enabled a 50% increase in the
carboplatin dose without increasing toxicity but did not alter the efficacy of
carboplatin against this brain tumor.
Mei and colleagues,
Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China, studied the influence of zinc and
selenium-zinc upon the immune function (T-cells, granulocytes and NK cells) of
cancer patients. The results showed that immune response was strengthened,
suggesting that zinc or selenium-zinc may be instrumental in restoring failing
immunocompetence of cancer patient.
Waalkes and
colleagues, National Cancer Institute, Maryland assessed the effect of dietary
zinc deficiency on the carcinogenic potential of cadmium in rats. Zinc-deficient
diets markedly increased the number of tumours generated by cadmium exposure
while significantly reducing the number of preneoplastic lesions. Zinc
deficiency appears to cause a generalized increase in the chronic toxic effects
of cadmium.
Lekili and
colleagues, University of Hacettepe, Ankara, Turkey, determined that there were
significant differences in serum zinc levels in prostatic cancer patients
compared with patients with benign prostatic conditions. Distinct differences
were found in zinc plasma content prostate cancer patients before and after
therapy. Therefore, zinc concentration in serum may be a valuable index for the
differential diagnosis and therapy of prostatic carcinoma.13
Floersheim and Bieri, Kantonsspital, Basel, Switzerland determined that the organic zinc salts aspartate, histidine, orotate and acetate reduced the fall of the haematocrit, thrombocytes, erythrocytes and leucocytes in irradiated mice, zinc aspartate being the most effective. The synergism of zinc aspartate with radioprotector WR 2721 may make it possible in clinical cancer radiotherapy to obtain selective radioprotection at a lower toxicity and to inhibit lymphoid tumours.14,15
The above studies illustrate that zinc may play a role in:
* survival in the treatment of cutaneous melanoma;
* the diagnosis of prostate cancer;
* protection against the carcinogenic effects of toxic metals such as cadmium;
* restoring immune function in cancer patients;
* adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy for lympoid and brain tumours.