Estimation of serum zinc, copper, and iron in the patients of oral submucous fibrosis

INTRODUCTION: The role of trace elements in various diseases has been a matter of controversy with various authors reporting on conflicting data. They are receiving much attention in the detection of oral cancer and precancer as they are found to be significantly altered and have an important role in carcinogenesis. Trace elements have been extensively studied in the recent years to assess whether they have any modifying effect in the etiology of oral malignant conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A study was conducted on fifty subjects with clinically diagnosed oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and fifty controls with no apparent lesions of the oral mucosa and without any areca nut-related oral habit. RESULTS: The level of serum zinc was significantly (P < 0.0001) lower among cases (73.48 ± 24.21) compared with controls (119.48 ± 52.78). However, the serum copper level was significantly (P < 0.0001) higher among cases (155.50 ± 40.13) than controls (100.40 ± 24.52). The level of serum iron was observed to be lower among the cases (66.57 ± 27.76) as compared to controls (94.19 ± 35.70), and the difference was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded from this study that serum zinc, copper, and iron levels could be used as a potential prognostic and diagnostic markers in OSMF patients.