This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Correction (v16,p2173) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cui, Y. Articles by Rohan, T. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Cui, Y. Articles by Rohan, T. E.

Levels of Zinc, Selenium, Calcium, and Iron in Benign Breast Tissue and Risk of Subsequent Breast Cancer

¹ Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California; ² X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois; ³ Kaiser Permanente, Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon; and ⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York

Requests for reprints: Thomas E. Rohan, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Belfer 1301, Bronx, NY 10461. Phone: 718-430-3355; Fax: 718-430-8653. E-mail: rohan{at}aecom.yu.edu

Previous studies that have assessed breast cancer in relation to zinc, selenium, calcium, and iron have yielded inconsistent results but have not measured breast tissue levels. In a case-control study involving 252 matched pairs nested in a cohort of 9,315 women with benign breast disease, we investigated these associations by directly measuring elemental levels in breast tissue using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Quintile analyses revealed positive associations of breast cancer, of borderline statistical significance, with zinc [highest versus lowest quintile: odds ratio (OR), 1.37; 95% confidence limit (95% CL), 0.91, 2.05; P_trend = 0.04], iron (highest versus lowest quintile: OR, 1.58; 95% CL, 1.02, 2.44; P_trend = 0.07), and calcium (highest versus lowest quintile: OR, 1.46; 95% CL, 0.98, 2.17; P_trend = 0.14), but little association with selenium (highest versus lowest quintile: OR, 1.10; 95% CL, 0.72, 1.68; P_trend = 0.76). The associations were weakened by mutual adjustment. Furthermore, after stratification by menopausal status, the positive association between iron and breast cancer was confined to postmenopausal women (highest versus lowest quintile: OR, 2.77; 95% CL, 1.25, 6.13; P_trend = 0.008), whereas the associations for zinc, calcium, and selenium did not differ by menopausal stratum. In conclusion, our data raise the possibility that relatively high levels of zinc, iron, and calcium in benign breast tissue may be associated with a modest increase in risk of subsequent breast cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(8):1682–5)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. N. Schrauzer Antioxidant Supplementation Increases Skin Cancer Risk, or, Why Zinc Should Not Be Considered an Antioxidant J. Nutr., April 1, 2008; 138(4): 820 - 820. [Full Text] [PDF]

				Corrections Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., October 1, 2007; 16(10): 2173 - 2173. [Full Text] [PDF]