Breast Cancer is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in women globally. Elements involved in Environmental toxicology; are closely related to malignant tumor growth. The aim of this study is to assess the concentration of lead and cadmium in serum as well as in tissues of malignant tumor patients and normal breast patients. The estimation was done by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Lead and cadmium concentration was determined in serum of 30 malignant and 20 controls and tissue concentration was assessed in 30 malignant breast tumor patients. Two samples from each patient were taken during lumpectomy or mastectomy procedure. 5 ml blood sample was taken after 12 hours of fasting from cubital vein and 2 ml serum was separated after centrifugation. Our results showed highly significant difference in both serum (Pb- t=3.2, p<0.001, Cd- t=7.4, p<0.001) as well as tissue (Pb- t=10.8, p<0.001, Cd- t=11.6, p<0.001) lead and cadmium in malignant breast tumor patients as compared to controls. Thus we conclude that lead and cadmium have possible detrimental role in causation of breast cancer and can be a potent diagnostic marker of the disease process.
