Serum levels of Copper, Zinc and Copper/Zinc Ratio in Patients with Ovarian Cancer

Objective: To investigate the serum concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and copper/zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) in patients with ovarian cancer and benign ovarian lesions. Methodology: The study included 50 patients, with ovarian cancer (malignant group) and 50 patients with benign ovarian lesions (benign group). After overnight fasting, blood samples were collected. The concentrations of Cu and Zn were measured by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Results: There was a significant increase in mean serum levels of Cu (p=0.0001) and the ratio of Cu/Zn (p=0.003) in ovarian cancer patients. However, there was no significant difference in the mean serum levels of Zn between two groups (p=0.71). Conclusions: The study showed that serum copper and copper/zinc ratio were significantly higher in ovarian cancer patients when compared to the patients with benign ovarian lesions. It seems that determination of serum copper and copper/zinc ratio may be used as a test for diagnosing of ovarian cancer.