Association between Serum Zinc Levels and Clinicopathological Characteristics in Patients with Gastric Cancer

INTRODUCTION: Although it was reported that serum zinc levels were lower in patients with various malignancies, serum zinc levels of patients with gastric cancer were not well documented. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the association between clinicopathologic features and serum zinc levels in preoperative patients with gastric cancer. METHODS: The study enrolled 83 patients scheduled for gastric cancer surgery at the Kochi Medical School. Clinical data were obtained to investigate associations between clinicopathological features, including nutritional indicators and serum zinc levels. Serum zinc deficiency was defined as serum zinc level <80 μg/dL. RESULTS: The median zinc level of the 83 patients was 73 μg/dL (range, 20–152 μg/dL), and serum zinc deficiency was present in 66.3% of patients. Albumin was significantly lower in the zinc low level group than in the normal group (3.9 g/dL vs. 4.4 g/dL, p < 0.001), and the median serum zinc level was significantly lower in the albumin <4.1 g/dL group than in the albumin ≥4.1 g/dL group (69 μg/dL vs. 82 μg/dL, p < 0.001). Lymphocyte count was significantly lower in the zinc low level group than in the normal group (1,500 vs. 1810 years, p = 0.041). The median serum zinc level was significantly lower in the age ≥74 group than in the age <74 (71 μg/dL vs. 76 μg/dL, p = 0.002). Serum zinc levels showed a significant positive correlation with serum albumin (r = 0.637, p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Serum zinc deficiency was found in 66.3% of preoperative patients with gastric cancer, which was highly correlated with serum albumin.