Comparing the Metal Concentration in the Nails of Healthy and Cancer Patients Living in the Malwa Region of Punjab, India with a Random European Group – A Follow up Study

Abstract

The cancer prevalence in the Malwa region of Punjab (1089/million/year) is much higher than the national average cancer prevalence in India (800/million/year). In our previous study on hair metal analysis, we located a high metal burden in Punjabi cancer patients and their live-in relatives, suggesting that an excessive metal exposure is a factor in the pathogenesis of cancer. The present study focused on nail metal analysis, a biological material similar to hair. Previously, we had used BJMMR, 5(4): 480-498, 2015; Article no.BJMMR.2015.053 481 ICP-MS spectroscopy to confirm high exposures to aluminium (Al), barium (Ba), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), uranium (U and other metals in the hair of Punjabi cancer patients and their healthy relatives (Blaurock-Busch et al. 2014). In this study, we used nail metal analysis to confirm the results of our previous study. We compared the nail metal concentration of healthy Punjabis (N=83) with randomly selected healthy Europeans (N=83) and found highly significant differences between the European and Punjabi groups, including the healthy and the cancer groups.In comparison, our European group showed a low percentage (0 to 13%) of pathological values for aluminium (Al), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti) and uranium (U), while the healthy Punjabi groups showed between 13% and 99% pathological values for these elements. (Explanation: A test value above the 95% reference range is considered a pathological value.)The greatest metal burden was found in the breast cancer group (N=13), showing 100% pathological values for Al, Fe, Mn and U. This study supports previous research, which demonstrated a significant metal burden in Punjabi people. Water, soil, and phosphate fertilizers may be the cause of this excessive exposure. Original Research Article

Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of human fingernail clippings reveal multiple location signals

“…It is likely that few studies have been conducted earlier because of the low [Sr] within fingernail clippings. The range of [Sr] in our group was from 0.011 to 0.110 μg g −1 , which was lower than the previously reported abundances in healthy adult fingernail clippings (0.54–1.0 μg g −1 ) . The lower [Sr] in our study may have resulted from our cleaning method, which was originally used for human scalp hair, and included an additional acetone and 0.1 M HCl wash that was not used in the other fingernail studies.…”

“…These individuals may have increased [Sr] abundance compared with those without. Blaurock‐Bousch et al found that [Sr] differed between healthy European and Punjabi adults; while they did not specify what could be driving this difference, the presence of melanin could play a role.…”

Calcium evaluation of human fingernail using laser plasma spectroscopy by simultaneously applying addition and modified external standardizations

“…As reported by Micro Trace Minerals Laboratory and some other scientific references, there are typically about 60 elements in the human fingernail [19][20][21]. Calcium, the structural element, is the most abundant mineral in the fingernail [19], as is in the body. In order to measure the concentration of calcium in the fingernail, due to the existence of a significant number of elements in this organ, the most appropriate method is calibration-based LIBS.…”

Determination of the concentration of Fe, Se and Zn elements in nails of Vietnamese women with breast cancer using k0-INAA method

“…One can understand these cases as follows, because there no blood vessels in fingernail tissues so that the concentration of element Fe in fingernails of women with breast cancer can not similar to cancerous breast tumors. In researching metal exposure in the nails of the population at Punjab, India, Blaurock has shown that the concentration of element Fe in nails of breast cancer patients was much higher than to healthy people and intake Fe into the body due to environmental exposure 38 . Recently, it was not found any research for the evaluation of the concentration of element Zn in nails of women with breast cancer and healthy women.…”