Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
Abstract
The development of civilization and economic activities
affect the increase in the number and variety of xenobiotics,
including some heavy metals in the environment. Hence,
human is constantly exposed to many harmful substances
in air, water, soil and food. It is well known that cadmium
(Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) are the most toxic socalled
heavy metals (density ¤4.5 g/cm3) [1]. The critical
organs accumulating these metals are kidneys, which are
involved in the detoxification process. The concentration of
metals in the kidneys is affected by environmental factors,
such as smoking, diet, or amalgam dental fillings (mercury),
and some biological factors – as age and gender. Recently,
research was conducted on the impact of the Renal Cell
Carcinoma (RCC) on the concentration of these metals in
kidneys. Patients with kidney cancer accumulate less cadmium
than healthy ones. Therefore it is very important to
monitor the concentrations of highly toxic metals in the
excretory organ, particularly in patients with nephrological
disorder