Selenium, nickel, and calcium levels in cancerous and non-cancerous prostate tissue samples and their relation with some parameters

In the present study, tissue samples of patients with cancerous and non-cancerous prostate were analyzed for their Se, Ni, and Ca contents. Possible relationship between Se, Ni, and Ca concentrations and some parameters including preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, histopathological neurovascular invasion, extra-capsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion, positive surgical margins, PSA relapse after radical prostatectomy, and total Gleason scores were obtained. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) optical emission spectrometry and ICP-mass spectrometry instruments were used for the determination of analytes interested. All the system parameters in digestion and measurement steps were optimized to obtain efficient digestion and sensitive measurements. There was no statistically meaningful difference observed in the concentration of selenium in cancerous and benign prostatic tissues (p = 0.347) while nickel levels in cancerous tissues were observed as significantly lower than benign tissues (p < 0.001). In addition, calcium concentration in cancerous tissue samples were found to be statistically lower than those in benign tissues (p < 0.001) with mean values of 657 and 1,431 mg/kg, respectively.