[Gastric cancer and serum zinc content].

Changes in the serum zinc content of patients with gastric cancer were investigated in connection with the size of the primary lesion, the depth of invasion into the gastric wall, the presence or absence of liver metastasis and the histological types. The serum zinc content of the patients decreased along with the progress of the cancer. The changes in serum zinc were closely related to the extent and severity of the disease, but were independent of the presence of liver metastasis and of the histological types in patients with gastric cancer. As a cause of decreasing serum zinc in cancer patients, a decrease of serum albumin was emphasized. The relationship between the decrease of serum zinc and accumulation of zinc in the tumor tissue in patients with gastric cancer could not be elucidated.