[Changes of serum-zinc in breast cancer (author's transl)].

Serum-zinc-levels were evaluated in patients with breast cancer in relation to the various stages. Patients with metastatic breast cancer had significantly depressed zinc-levels, wereas patients with disease apparently localized to the breast and draining lymphnodes had nearly normal serumzinc levels. It appears that the determination of serumzinc in breast cancer patients may be of value in discriminating between localized and metastatic disease.