The Content of Silver, Cobalt, Chromium, Iron, Mercury, Rubidium, Antimony, Selenium, and Zinc in Osteogenic Sarcoma

Objectives: To clarify the role of trace elements in the etiology and the pathogenesis of the osteogenic sarcoma (osteosarcoma), a non-destructive neutron activation analysis with high resolution spectrometry of long-lived radionuclides was performed. Methods: The silver (Ag), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), rubidium (Rb), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) mass fraction, Rb/Co, Rb/Fe, Rb/Se, and Rb/Zn mass fraction ratios as well as Co × Zn, Fe × Zn, Sb × Zn, Se × Zn, Co × Se, and Fe × Se mass fraction multiplications were estimated in normal bone samples from 27 patients with intact bone (12 females and 15 males, aged from 16 to 49 years), who had died from various non bone related causes, mainly unexpected from trauma, and in tumor samples, obtained from open biopsies or after operation of 27 patients with osteosarcoma (9 females and 18 males, 6 to 71 years old). The reliability of difference in the results between intact bone and osteosarcoma tissues was evaluated by Student’s t-test. Results: In the osteosarcoma tissue the mass fractions of Co, Cr, Fe, Sb, Se, and Zn are significantly higher while the mass fraction of Rb is lower than in normal bone tissues. Moreover, we found significantly lower values of Rb/Co, Rb/Fe, Rb/Se, and Rb/Zn mass fraction ratios as well as significant higher mean values of Co × Zn, Fe × Zn, Sb × Zn, Se × Zn, Co × Se, and Fe × Se mass fractions multiplications in the osteosarcoma tissue compared to intact bone. In the osteosarcoma tissue many correlations between trace elements found in the control group were no longer evident. Conclusion: In osteosarcoma transformed bone tissues the trace element homeostasis is significantly disturbed.