Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are one of the most common cancers. Among them, esophageal and gastric cancers as upper GI tract cancers are the eighth and fourth most common cancers, respectively. Among the multiple environmental factors, several studies have investigated the relationship between trace elements and their role in cancer disease.The aim of our research is to measure tissue content of Zn, Cr, Mn, Se, Cu, Al, Pb, and Fe in common cancers of stomach and esophagus and compare with adjacent healthy tissues

It was a cross-sectional study. Tissue samples were obtained from 50 patients (mean age of 53.92±1.24, male /female: 26/24) with gastric and esophageal cancers. The tissue content of trace elements were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Results indicated significant differences in the median concentrations of Zn (P=0.027), Cr (P=0.029), Se (P=0.003) and, Cu (P=0.049) in cancerous tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues. There was no significant change in the tissue content of any of the trace elements in the esophageal cancer tissue compared with non-cancerous tissues. However, there were significant differences in the median concentrations of Zn (P=0.009), Cr (P=0.018) and, Se (P=0.011) in gastric tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues.

In this study, the tissue content of some elements was altered in gastric and esophageal cancers. We cannot offer a detailed explanation about differences between our results with others studies, but can be attributed to a variety of factors, including: the geographical location, race and age of the patients, food habits, the type of technique used, severity and the duration of the cancer, tumor location, type and size of samples and exposure duration.