Aluminum concentration in blood of hemodialysis patients and its clinical importance

A multicenter study was performed to investigate the prevalence of abnormal blood contents of aluminum in hemodialysis patients and to clarify the impact of aluminum level on the clinical status of such patients. Material and methods. Two hundred sixty five patients with end-stage renal disease from 7 dialysis centers were enrolled in this study. All patients had undergone standart hemodialysis. Venous blood samples were collected from hemodialysis patients before hemodialysis sessions. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was applied to measure blood levels of aluminum. Results. Out of hemodialysis patients 24.9% had high blood aluminum (>30 microg/l), and the mean was 27.4±43.8 microg/l in all subjects. The aluminum containing phosphate binder users had significantly higher blood aluminum levels (45.1±102.0 versus 15.4±18.9 microg/l, p30 microg/l)

Association between cadmium and breast cancer

Cadmium is a known human lung carcinogen, although some studies indicate a link between cadmium exposure and human breast cancer. The objective of this study was to assess cadmium concentration in breast tissue samples of patients with breast cancer and benign breast tumor. Material and methods. The concentration of cadmium was determined in breast tissue samples of 21 breast cancer and 19 benign tumor patients. Two samples of breast tissue from each patient, i.e. tumor and normal tissue close to tumor, were taken for the analysis. Cadmium was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (Perkin-Elmer, Zeeman 3030). Results. In patients with breast cancer, the mean cadmium concentration was 33.1 ng/g (95% CI, 21.9– 44.4) in malignant breast tissue and 10.4 ng/g (95% CI, 5.6–15.2) in normal breast tissue (P=0.002). In patients with benign tumor, the corresponding values were 17.5 ng/g (95% CI, 8.4–26.5) and 11.8 ng/g (95% CI, 5.1– 18.5) (P=0.3144). There was a statistically significant difference in cadmium concentration between malignant and benign breast tissues (P=0.009). Conclusion. The data obtained show that cadmium concentration is significantly higher in malignant breast tissue as compared with normal breast tissue of the same women or benign breast tissue. Further studies are necessary to determine the association between cadmium concentration in malignant breast tissue and estrogen receptor level, and smoking