X-ray fluorescence analysis clarifies the link between zinc deficiency and the increased risk of cancer

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that zinc deficiency in humans is associated with an increased risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, an often-fatal form of esophageal cancer numbering about 7,000 cases a year. The research basically measures the zinc concentration contained in the tissue by means of X-ray fluorescence analysis using synchrotron radiation at Advanced Photon Source, Argonne, USA. For more details, see the paper, "Zinc concentration in esophageal biopsy specimens measured by X-ray fluorescence and esophageal cancer risk", C.C. Abnet, B. Lai, Y.-L. Qiao, S. Vogt, X.-M. Luo, P.R. Taylor, Z.-W. Dong, S.D. Mark, S.M. Dawsey, J. Nat. Cancer I. 97, 301 (2005). Information about cancer is available at http://www.cancer.gov or NCI's Cancer Information Service at +1-800-422-6237.