Copper and zinc levels in serum from patients with abnormalities of the uterine cervix.

Serum copper and zinc levels were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy in 110 women with varying degrees of cervical dysplasia up to carcinoma-in-situ and in 9 women with invasive carcinoma of the cervix, and compared with levels in 21 women with no evidence of cervical dysplasia. The average serum copper and zinc levels in the control group were 1.25 mg/l and 1.02 mg/l (respectively). The mean serum copper level increased with dysplasia to 1.4 mg/l and with invasive carcinoma to 1.47 mg/l. The mean serum zinc levels were decreased in cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 1 to 0.81 mg/l and in invasive carcinoma to 0.73 mg/l. The copper:zinc ratios varied significantly between controls, patients with cervical dysplasia and patients with invasive carcinoma (p less than 0.01). Measurement of serum ceruloplasmin revealed no significant differences among the control group and the groups of patients.