Toenail zinc level and gastric cancer risk in Cali, Colombia.

Purpose: To examine the associations between gastric cancer (GC) risk and the zinc levels in toenail clippings, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study during the period from 2000 to 2002 in Cali, Colombia.

Methods: Toenail clippings and information on lifestyles including dietary habits were obtained from 156 GC patients newly diagnosed in three hospitals in Cali and 287 controls selected from non-cancer patients who were hospitalized in the same hospitals as GC patients. Zinc concentrations in toenail clippings were examined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Results: An inverse association was observed between toenail zinc level and GC risk (P for trend = 0.039). When we examined this association separately for current and former smokers and non-smokers, only current-smokers showed a significant inverse association (P for trend = 0.035). Histology specific analysis revealed that this inverse association was stronger when we limited GC cases with intestinal-type and their matched controls (P for trend < 0.001). This association was also observed in the carcinomas located in the upper two-thirds of the stomach (P for trend = 0.004) but not in carcinomas in the lower-third of the stomach (P for trend = 0.727).

Conclusions: There was an inverse association between toenail zinc level and GC risk. However, the association was limited to smokers, intestinal-type GC, and tumors in the upper two-thirds of the stomach. Further studies seem warranted to confirm our findings.