Nutritional assessment and serum zinc and copper concentration in leukemic children
Keywords:
Leukemia, Nutritional Assessment, Zinc and CopperAbstract
CONTEXT: Malnutrition in childhood cancer is commonly a serious problem. Changes in blood zinc and copper have also been found in malignant diseases. OBJECTIVE: To describe the protein-energy nutritional status and serum zinc and copper of children with newly diagnosed leukemia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: University referral center. PARTICIPANTS: 23 children with newly diagnosed acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) or acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) between the ages of 1and 10 years. The control subjects were 31 healthy school children of similar age from local schools. MAIN MEASURES: Anthropometric measurements of height/age and weight/height, food intake and serum levels of zinc and copper. RESULTS: Almost the entire group of children were eutrophic. Zinc and copper intake were below the recommended values. Serum zinc levels were significantly lower and serum copper levels were significantly higher in the leukemic group when compared to normal children. CONCLUSION: At the time of diagnosis the children suffering from leukemia were not overtly malnourished but blood analysis showed alterations in concentrations of the trace elements zinc and copper.
Downloads
References
Van-Eys J. Nutrition of children with cancer. Front Radiat Ther Oncol 1982;16:177-83.
Wesdorp RIC, Krause R, Meyenfeldt MF. Cancer cachexia and its nutritional implications. Br J Surg 1983;70:352-5.
Gottlieb JA, Drewinko B. Review of the current clinical status of platinum coordination complexes in cancer chemotherapy. Cancer 1975;59:621-8.
Halstead JA, Smith JC. Plasma zinc in health and disease. Lancet 1970;1:322-5.
Cartwright GE, Wintrobe MM. Copper metabolism in normal subjects Am J Clin Nutr 1964;14:224-32.
Gupta SK, Shukla V, Gupta V, et al. Serum trace elements and Cu/Zn ratio in malignant lymphomas in children. J Tropical Pediatrics 1994;40:185-7.
Cohen Y, Epelbaum E, Haim N, et al. The value of serum copper levels in non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Cancer 1984;53:296-300.
Andrews GS. Studies of plasma zinc, copper, ceruloplasmin and growth hormone. With special reference to carcinoma of the bronchus. J Clin Pathol 1979;32:325-33.
Gupta SK, Shukla V, Vaidya MP, et al. Serum trace elements and Cu/Zn ratio in breast cancer patients. J Surgical Oncology 1991;46:178-81.
Grunberg J, Equivel N, Sitkewicj A, Farias Y. Método de classificacion social de Graffar: instructivo con modificaciones y definiciones. Courrier 1981;31(5):492-4.
Waterlow JC. Classification and definition of protein: calorie malnutrition. Br Med J 1972;3:566-9.
NCHS. Growth charts. US Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Public Health service, Health Resources Administration, Rockville, MD, 1976.
Sprague S, Slavin W. Determination of iron, copper and zinc in blood serum by an atomic absorption method requiring only dilution. Absorp Newslett 1965;4:228-33.
Recommended daily allowances (RDA) subcommittee. On the tenth edition of the RDAs. European J Clin Nutr 1990;44(2):13-21.
Carter P, Can D, Van-Eys J, et al. Nutritional parameters in children with cancer. J Am Diet Assoc 1983;82(6):616-22.
Tone LG, Sgarbieri UR, Vieira MNCM. Avaliaçăo do estado nutricional de crianças portadoras de neoplasias malignas. Jornal de Pediatria 1991;67(3/4):101-11.
Victora CG, Vaughan PJ, Kikwood BR. Risk factors for malnutrition in Brazilian children: the role of social and environmental variables. Bull World Health Org 1986;64(2):299-309.
Van-Eys J. Malnutrition in children with cancer: incidence and consequence. Cancer 1979;43:2030-5.
Sanstead HH. Zinc deficiency: a public health problem? Am J Dis Child 1991;145:853-9.
Delves HT, Alexander FE, Lay H. Copper and zinc concentration in the plasma of leukemic children. Br J Haematol 1973;24:525-33.
Braga JAP. Avaliaçăo do estado nutricional e importância dos oligoelementos zinco, cobre e ferro na doença falciforme. Săo Paulo: 1994 (MSc Thesis).
Hrgovic M, Tessner CF, Thomas FB, et al. Significance of serum copper levels in adult patients with Hodgkins disease. Cancer 1973;31:1337-45.
Beguin Y, Brasser F, Weber G, et al. Observations of serum trace elements in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Cancer 1987;60:1842-6.
Brown DA, Chatel KW, Chan AY, et al. Distribution of cadmium, copper and zinc in pretumorous diethylnitrosamine exposed mice and in non-cancerous patients. Chem Biol Interact 1980;32:13-27.
Shah I, Lewkow LM, Khila-Nnana U. Correlations of hypercupremia with other acute phase reactants in malignant lymphoma. Cancer 1983;51:851-4.
Tessner CF, Hrgovic M, Brown BW, et al. Serum copper correlations with bone marrow. Cancer 1972;29:173-9.
Oyama T, Matsuno K, Kawamoto T, et al. Efficiency of serum copper/zinc ratio for differential diagnosis of patients with and without lung cancer. Biol Trace Elem Res 1994;42:115-27.
