Abstract

ROLE OF TRACE ELEMENTS AND ANTIOXIDANTS IN THE PATIENTS OF PROSTATE CANCER

Sunil Kumar*, Shikhaa Mahajan, Suvarana Prasad, Neeru Bhaskar, Shilpa Rattan, Rooma Devi

ABSTRACT

Cancer is defined as a relatively autonomous growth of tissues. The cells which divide abnormally having uncontrolled growth. The agent that is responsible for causing cancer is termed as carcinogen and the process of cancer development is referred to as carcinogenesis and the agents which increases the frequency with which normal cells are converted to transformed cells are said to be carcinogenic. In addition to being most commonly encountered cancer among men, prostate cancer is second leading cause of death among cancers, following lung cancer Some trace elements like zinc, iron and copper play important role in the development or proliferation of tumor cell. It has been illustrated that in case of prostate cancer, cellular level of Zinc decreases, in contrast of which cellular level of copper and iron increases. Alteration in the levels of these trace elements causes increased growth and proliferation of the cells, which on progression acquire malignant properties. And thus they play an indirect role in development of prostate cancer. Thus variation in the levels of these trace elements may have a causative effect on prostate cancer.

Keywords: Prostate Cancer, Trace Element- Zinc(Zn), Iron(Fe), Copper(Cu), Reactive Oxygen Species(ROS), Antioxidant.