Comparison of 66 chemical element contents in normal and benign hyperplastic prostate

doi:10.1016/j.ajur.2017.11.009

Asian Journal of Urology, 2019, 6 (3): 275-289 doi: 10.1016/j.ajur.2017.11.009

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Comparison of 66 chemical element contents in normal and benign hyperplastic prostate

Vladimir Zaichick^a,*(

),Sofia Zaichick^b(

)

^aRadionuclide Diagnostics Department, Medical Radiological Research Centre, Kaluga Region, Russia
^b Laboratory of Dr. Gabriela CaraveoPiso, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

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Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the differences between the prostatic levels of chemical elements in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and healthy male. Methods: We evaluated the prostatic level of 66 chemical elements in 43 patients with BPH and 37 healthy males. Measurements were performed using five instrumental analytical methods. Results: In the hyperplastic prostates, we have observed a significant increase in the mean level of Bi, Cr, Hg, K, Sb, and Se accompanied a significant decrease in the mean level of Al, Ce, Cs, Dy, Er, Gd, Ho, La, Mo, Nd, Pb, Pr, Sm, Sn, Tb, Tm, U, and Y. No differences were found in the mean prostatic level of other chemical elements including Ag, Al, Au, B, Ba, Be, Br, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Rb, S, Sc, Si, Th, Ti, Tl, Yb, Zn, and Zr between BPH patients and healthy males. Conclusions: The finding of chemical element contents and correlation between pairs of chemical element mass fractions indicates that there is a great disturbance of prostatic chemical element metabolism in BPH gland. Trace elements Bi, Cr, Hg, K, Sb, and Se may be regarded as the possible tissue biomarkers of hyperplastic transformation of prostate gland. Obtained data did not confirm a critical role of Cd and Pb accumulation in the pathogenesis of BPH. A potential age-related Zn, Fe, and Se deficiency in the prostate tissue has not been found as being involved in the etiology of BPH.

Key words： Benign prostate hyperplasia Prostatic chemical element contents Trace element supplementations Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis Neutron activation analysis Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and mass spectrometry

Received: 25 December 2016 Available online: 06 December 2017

Corresponding Authors: Vladimir Zaichick,Sofia Zaichick E-mail: vezai@obninsk.com;szaitc1@uic.edu

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Cite this article:

Vladimir Zaichick,Sofia Zaichick. Comparison of 66 chemical element contents in normal and benign hyperplastic prostate[J]. Asian Journal of Urology, 2019, 6(3): 275-289.

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http://www.ajurology.com/EN/10.1016/j.ajur.2017.11.009 OR http://www.ajurology.com/EN/Y2019/V6/I3/275

Element	Symbol	M	SD	SEM	Min	Max	Median	P0.025	P0.975
Silver	Ag	0.0402	0.0416	0.0087	0.0040	0.1850	0.0289	0.0046	0.1560
Aluminum	Al	24.4	10.2	3.2	8.4	38.2	25.6	10.0	38.2
Gold	Au	0.00257	0.00255	0.00077	0.00100	0.0100	0.00200	0.00100	0.00833
Boron	B	1.51	0.79	0.26	0.70	3.20	1.20	0.760	3.02
Barium	Ba	1.22	0.68	0.20	0.42	2.32	0.97	0.468	2.24
Beryllium	Be	0.00092	0.00014	0.00004	0.00070	0.00100	0.00100	0.00070	0.00100
Bismuth	Bi	0.140	0.139	0.042	0.005	0.400	0.079	0.006	0.367
Bromine	Br	30.4	17.2	3.3	5.5	77.0	25.9	5.8	62.9
Calcium	Ca	2032	547	165	1168	2762	1898	1173	2757
Cadmium	Cd	1.07	1.42	0.43	0.21	5.20	0.50	0.23	4.20
Cerium	Ce	0.0128	0.0063	0.0019	0.0040	0.0250	0.0110	0.0045	0.0238
Cobalt	Co	0.0615	0.0366	0.0080	0.0246	0.1700	0.0500	0.0268	0.1520
Cromium	Cr	0.991	0.434	0.097	0.046	2.270	0.986	0.262	1.850
Cesium	Cs	0.0235	0.0081	0.0025	0.0150	0.0450	0.0220	0.0153	0.0408
Coper	Cu	9.86	3.96	1.25	6.00	18.90	8.30	6.25	17.90
Dysprosium	Dy	0.00156	0.00080	0.00024	0.00042	0.00285	0.00157	0.00047	0.00283
Erbium	Er	0.00072	0.00042	0.00013	0.00018	0.00156	0.00064	0.00019	0.00144
Iron	Fe	141	84	14	56	405	117	57	379
Gadolinium	Gd	0.00153	0.00088	0.00027	0.00040	0.00370	0.00150	0.00043	0.00330
Mercury	Hg	0.254	0.135	0.028	0.086	0.520	0.248	0.088	0.517
Holmium	Ho	0.00032	0.00016	0.00005	0.00009	0.00055	0.00039	0.00010	0.00053
Potassium	K	14 472	2454	740	11 683	20 519	13 552	12 025	19 744
Lanthanum	La	0.0187	0.0096	0.0030	0.0100	0.0410	0.0160	0.0100	0.0374
Lithium	Li	0.0385	0.0242	0.0073	0.0130	0.0880	0.0300	0.0138	0.0855
Magnesium	Mg	1201	276	83	687	1585	1263	749	1552
Manganese	Mn	1.19	0.31	0.09	0.80	1.80	1.20	0.80	1.73
Molybdenum	Mo	0.167	0.029	0.009	0.130	0.220	0.170	0.130	0.215
Sodium	Na	11 612	2882	869	7762	15 503	10 564	7893	15 400
Niobium	Nb	0.0102	0.0262	0.0079	0.0010	0.0890	0.0020	0.0010	0.0680
Neodymium	Nd	0.00618	0.00293	0.00088	0.00200	0.01200	0.00600	0.00200	0.01130
Nickel	Ni	3.22	3.51	1.06	1.00	12.20	1.90	1.03	11.10
Phosphorus	P	7907	1385	418	6279	11 780	7547	6512	10888
Lead	Pb	0.686	0.526	0.159	0.190	1.700	0.520	0.203	1.660
Praseodymium	Pr	0.00149	0.00090	0.00027	0.00020	0.00340	0.00130	0.00028	0.00313
Rubidium	Rb	14.8	4.6	0.8	6.6	24.0	15.0	7.3	22.9
Sulphur	S	8787	1616	487	7671	13 507	8289	7726	12 401
Antimony	Sb	0.162	0.163	0.035	0.0110	0.7330	0.1240	0.0121	0.5830
Scandium	Sc	0.0257	0.0156	0.0040	0.0039	0.0543	0.0213	0.0050	0.0536
Selenium	Se	1.11	0.32	0.07	0.43	1.60	1.15	0.53	1.60
Silicon	Si	141	79	24	72	333	102	73	307
Samarium	Sm	0.00143	0.00125	0.00038	0.00020	0.00420	0.00120	0.00020	0.00388
Tin	Sn	0.108	0.097	0.029	0.030	0.300	0.060	0.033	0.295
Strontium	Sr	3.87	2.58	0.59	0.20	10.9	3.40	0.83	9.73
Terbium	Tb	0.00017	0.00008	0.00002	0.00007	0.00030	0.00016	0.00008	0.00030
Thorium	Th	0.00180	0.00111	0.00034	0.00050	0.00410	0.00140	0.00060	0.00380
Titanium^a	Ti^a	1.53	0.66	0.20	0.70	2.00	2.00	0.70	2.00
Thallium	Tl	0.00202	0.00180	0.00057	0.00080	0.00700	0.00165	0.00082	0.00592
Thulium	Tm	0.00015	0.00007	0.00002	0.00004	0.00026	0.00017	0.00004	0.00026
Uranium	U	0.00210	0.00311	0.00094	0.00033	0.01120	0.00097	0.00042	0.00914
Yttrium	Y	0.00709	0.00383	0.00115	0.00200	0.01500	0.00790	0.00200	0.01370
Ytterbium	Yb	0.00083	0.00066	0.00020	0.00010	0.00230	0.00070	0.00013	0.00213
Zinc	Zn	1112	613	83	312	3142	1038	316	2492
Zirconium	Zr	0.091	0.115	0.036	0.010	0.400	0.065	0.010	0.335

Basic statistical parameters of chemical element mass fraction (mg/kg, dry mass basis) in the BPH prostate gland (n = 43).

Element	Symbol	M	SD	SEM	Min	Max	Median	P0.025	P0.975
Silver	Ag	0.0380	0.0296	0.0056	0.0050	0.1550	0.0300	0.0084	0.0976
Aluminum	Al	34.1	17.7	3.5	9.6	73.3	29.0	12.0	70.8
Gold	Au	0.00412	0.00346	0.00078	0.00100	0.01060	0.00230	0.00100	0.01030
Boron	B	1.04	0.85	0.18	0.30	3.00	0.70	0.30	2.89
Barium	Ba	1.48	1.01	0.21	0.20	4.33	1.17	0.30	3.73
Beryllium	Be	0.00094	0.00035	0.00007	0.00070	0.00210	0.00075	0.00070	0.00187
Bismuth	Bi	0.029	0.056	0.011	0.001	0.205	0.006	0.001	0.200
Bromine	Br	34.6	17.3	3.2	12.0	80.7	30.9	12.4	68.3
Calcium	Ca	2428	1232	233	1180	6893	2195	1197	5553
Cadmium	Cd	1.12	0.64	0.13	0.32	2.40	0.99	0.32	2.39
Cerium	Ce	0.0309	0.0244	0.0050	0.00600	0.0960	0.0220	0.0060	0.0937
Cobalt	Co	0.0467	0.0354	0.0064	0.0165	0.2000	0.0400	0.0169	0.1300
Cromium	Cr	0.562	0.433	0.082	0.030	1.810	0.456	0.030	1.670
Cesium	Cs	0.0339	0.0170	0.0033	0.0100	0.0870	0.0300	0.0131	0.0720
Coper	Cu	9.85	4.66	0.97	4.10	22.20	8.30	4.98	19.80
Dysprosium	Dy	0.00293	0.00242	0.00049	0.00069	0.01040	0.00224	0.000696	0.00934
Erbium	Er	0.00148	0.00114	0.00023	0.00040	0.00530	0.00116	0.00045	0.00421
Iron	Fe	121	34	6	62	210	114	68	192
Gadolinium	Gd	0.00290	0.00199	0.00041	0.000600	0.00850	0.00235	0.000715	0.00735
Mercury	Hg	0.0521	0.0426	0.0075	0.0077	0.1470	0.0335	0.0165	0.1410
Holmium	Ho	0.00057	0.00040	0.00008	0.00016	0.00179	0.00045	0.00017	0.00139
Potassium	K	11 650	2340	434	6325	18 198	11 403	7352	15 489
Lanthanum	La	0.080	0.100	0.020	0.009	0.324	0.034	0.010	0.309
Lithium	Li	0.0419	0.0264	0.0055	0.0150	0.1010	0.0300	0.0161	0.1000
Magnesium	Mg	1071	409	76	447	2060	1017	520	1955
Manganese	Mn	1.32	0.42	0.09	0.75	2.80	1.30	0.84	2.23
Molybdenum	Mo	0.282	0.190	0.038	0.100	0.850	0.230	0.100	0.754
Sodium	Na	10 987	2158	394	6415	15 300	10 911	6719	15 151
Niobium	Nb	0.0054	0.0058	0.0012	0.0010	0.0200	0.0031	0.0010	0.0194
Neodymium	Nd	0.0137	0.0100	0.0021	0.0030	0.0420	0.0100	0.0030	0.0354
Nickel	Ni	3.10	2.49	0.51	0.20	9.50	2.85	0.37	8.29
Phosphorus	P	7617	1839	368	5969	14 838	7225	6017	11 741
Lead	Pb	2.39	2.85	0.56	0.15	10.70	0.83	0.18	9.39
Praseodymium	Pr	0.00353	0.00258	0.00053	0.00060	0.01060	0.00285	0.00072	0.00939
Rubidium	Rb	14.5	5.1	0.9	5.9	26.5	14.2	6.2	25.5
Sulphur	S	8657	1271	254	5662	12 567	8569	6680	11 366
Antimony	Sb	0.0427	0.0364	0.0063	0.0080	0.1580	0.0375	0.0096	0.1540
Scandium	Sc	0.0294	0.0236	0.0053	0.0046	0.0771	0.0200	0.0066	0.0768
Selenium	Se	0.748	0.266	0.047	0.318	1.490	0.735	0.348	1.440
Silicon	Si	102	55	11	32	235	94	37	205
Samarium	Sm	0.00267	0.00176	0.00035	0.00060	0.00700	0.00260	0.00066	0.00652
Tin	Sn	0.320	0.322	0.063	0.050	1.110	0.140	0.056	1.040
Strontium	Sr	2.47	1.98	0.41	0.87	8.90	1.60	0.92	6.87
Terbium	Tb	0.00039	0.00030	0.00006	0.00007	0.00120	0.00035	0.00007	0.00109
Thorium	Th	0.00335	0.00363	0.00074	0.00050	0.01720	0.00180	0.00056	0.01250
Titanium^a	Ti^a	2.82	3.07	0.64	0.70	13.70	1.82	0.70	10.10
Thallium	Tl	0.00138	0.00072	0.00015	0.00030	0.00300	0.00130	0.00042	0.00289
Thulium	Tm	0.00024	0.00017	0.00004	0.00004	0.00083	0.00020	0.00006	0.00062
Uranium	U	0.0070	0.0105	0.0021	0.0008	0.0381	0.0026	0.0008	0.0341
Yttrium	Y	0.0187	0.0217	0.0043	0.0005	0.0840	0.0100	0.0021	0.0765
Ytterbium	Yb	0.00141	0.00121	0.00025	0.00020	0.00510	0.00110	0.00032	0.00412
Zinc	Zn	1072	749	123	229	4298	915	244	2249
Zirconium	Zr	0.0358	0.0272	0.0055	0.0100	0.0900	0.0250	0.0100	0.0900

Basic statistical parameters of chemical element mass fraction (mg/kg, dry mass basis) in the normal prostate gland of males of ages 41-87 years (n = 37).

Element	BPH 38-83 years, n = 43	Normal 41-87 years, n = 37	t-test p value	U-test p-Value	Ratio (BPH/normal)
Ag	0.0402 ± 0.0087	0.0380 ± 0.0056	0.833	>0.05	1.06
Al	24.4 ± 3.2	34.1 ± 3.5	0.052	<0.05	0.72
Au	0.00257 ± 0.00077	0.00412 ± 0.00078	0.168	>0.05	0.62
B	1.51 ± 0.26	1.04 ± 0.18	0.160	>0.05	1.45
Ba	1.22 ± 0.20	1.48 ± 0.21	0.392	>0.05	0.82
Be	0.000918 ± 0.000042	0.000942 ± 0.000072	0.781	>0.05	0.97
Bi	0.140 ± 0.042	0.029 ± 0.011	0.026	<0.01	4.83
Br	30.4 ± 3.3	34.6 ± 3.2	0.359	>0.05	0.88
Ca	2,032 ± 165	2,428 ± 233	0.174	>0.05	0.84
Cd	1.07 ± 0.43	1.12 ± 0.13	0.927	>0.05	0.96
Ce	0.0128 ± 0.0019	0.0309 ± 0.0050	0.0028	<0.01	0.41
Co	0.0615 ± 0.0080	0.0467 ± 0.0064	0.153	>0.05	1.32
Cr	0.991 ± 0.097	0.562 ± 0.082	0.0016	<0.01	1.76
Cs	0.0235 ± 0.0025	0.0339 ± 0.0033	0.017	<0.01	0.69
Cu	9.86 ± 1.25	9.85 ± 0.97	0.996	>0.05	1.00
Dy	0.00156 ± 0.00024	0.00293 ± 0.00049	0.018	<0.01	0.53
Er	0.00072 ± 0.00013	0.00148 ± 0.00023	0.0071	<0.01	0.49
Fe	141 ± 14	121 ± 6	0.193	>0.05	1.17
Gd	0.00153 ± 0.00027	0.00290 ± 0.00041	0.0081	<0.01	0.53
Hg	0.254 ± 0.028	0.052 ± 0.008	0.00000031	<0.01	4.88
Ho	0.000321 ± 0.000048	0.000567 ± 0.000079	0.012	<0.01	0.57
K	14 471 ± 740	11 650 ± 434	0.0042	<0.01	1.24
La	0.0187 ± 0.0030	0.0799 ± 0.0196	0.0047	<0.01	0.23
Li	0.0385 ± 0.0073	0.0419 ± 0.0055	0.713	>0.05	0.92
Mg	1,201 ± 83	1,071 ± 76	0.257	>0.05	1.12
Mn	1.19 ± 0.09	1.32 ± 0.09	0.320	>0.05	0.90
Mo	0.167 ± 0.009	0.282 ± 0.038	0.0067	<0.01	0.59
Na	11 612 ± 869	10 987 ± 394	0.522	>0.05	1.06
Nb	0.0102 ± 0.0079	0.0054 ± 0.0012	0.564	>0.05	1.89
Nd	0.0062 ± 0.0009	0.0137 ± 0.0021	0.0027	<0.01	0.45
Ni	3.22 ± 1.06	3.10 ± 0.51	0.924	>0.05	1.04
P	7,907 ± 418	7,617 ± 368	0.606	>0.05	1.04
Pb	0.69 ± 0.16	2.39 ± 0.56	0.0066	<0.01	0.29
Pr	0.00149 ± 0.00027	0.00353 ± 0.00053	0.0016	<0.01	0.42
Rb	14.8 ± 0.8	14.5 ± 0.9	0.798	>0.05	1.02
S	8,787 ± 487	8,657 ± 254	0.816	>0.05	1.02
Sb	0.162 ± 0.035	0.0427 ± 0.0063	0.0027	<0.01	3.79
Sc	0.0257 ± 0.0040	0.0294 ± 0.0053	0.583	>0.05	0.87
Se	1.11 ± 0.07	0.748 ± 0.047	0.000069	<0.01	1.48
Si	141 ± 24	102 ± 11	0.156	>0.05	1.38
Sm	0.00143 ± 0.00038	0.00267 ± 0.00035	0.023	<0.01	0.54
Sn	0.108 ± 0.029	0.320 ± 0.063	0.0046	<0.01	0.34
Sr	3.87 ± 0.59	2.47 ± 0.41	0.061	>0.05	1.57
Tb	0.000166 ± 0.000025	0.000393 ± 0.000062	0.0018	<0.01	0.42
Th	0.00180 ± 0.00034	0.00335 ± 0.00074	0.066	>0.05	0.54
Ti^a	1.52 ± 0.20	2.82 ± 0.64	0.064	>0.05	0.54
Tl	0.00202 ± 0.00057	0.00138 ± 0.00015	0.305	>0.05	1.46
Tm	0.000151 ± 0.000021	0.000241 ± 0.000035	0.033	<0.05	0.63
U	0.0021 ± 0.0009	0.0070 ± 0.0021	0.042	<0.05	0.30
Y	0.0071 ± 0.0012	0.0187 ± 0.0043	0.082	<0.05	0.38
Yb	0.00083 ± 0.00020	0.00141 ± 0.00025	0.074	>0.05	0.59
Zn	1,112 ± 83	1,072 ± 123	0.787	>0.05	1.04
Zr	0.091 ± 0.036	0.0358 ± 0.0055	0.167	>0.05	2.54

Comparison of mean values of the chemical element mass fraction (mg/kg, dry mass basis) in BPH and normal prostate tissue (M ± SEM).

Element	Published data [Reference]			This work
Element	Median of means (n^a)	Minimum of means M or M ± SD (n^b)	Maximum of means M or M ± SD (n^b)	M ± SD, n = 32
Ag	-	-	-	0.040 ± 0.042
Al	-	-	-	24.4 ± 103.2
Au	-	-	-	0.0026 ± 0.0026
B	-	-	-	1.51 ± 0.79
Ba	-	-	-	1.22 ± 0.68
Be	-	-	-	0.00092 ± 0.00014
Bi	-	-	-	0.140 ± 0.139
Br	23.3 (2)	18 ± 9 (27) [21]	21.5 ± 13.0 (9) [22]	30 ± 17
Ca	3100 (6)	1000 (34) [23]	5100 ± 3200 (9) [22]	2032 ± 547
Cd	1.3 (12)	0.395 ± 0.200(7) [24]	1641 ± 960 (60) [25]	1.07 ± 1.41
Ce	-	-	-	0.0128 ± 0.0063
Co	19 (1)	19.0 ± 1.5 (1) [26]	19.0 ± 1.5 (1) [26]	0.062 ± 0.037
Cr	99 (2)	6.5 ± 0.5 (2) [26]	191 ± 17 (27) [21]	0.99 ± 0.43
Cs	-	-	-	0.0235 ± 0.0081
Cu	15 (12)	3 ± 1 (7) [24]	885 ± 80 (10) [27]	9.9 ± 4.0
Dy	-	-	-	0.00156 ± 0.00080
Er	-	-	-	0.00072 ± 0.00042
Fe	197 (10)	5.9 ± 0.4 (8) [28]	1345 ± 95 (27) [21]	141 ± 84
Gd	-	-	-	0.00153 ± 0.00088
Hg	-	-	-	0.25 ± 0.14
Ho	-	-	-	0.00032 ± 0.00016
K	7400 (5)	1010 ± 100 (27) [21]	12 800 ± 1900 (43) [29]	14 471 ± 2454
La	-	-	-	0.0187 ± 0.0095
Li	-	-	-	0.039 ± 0.024
Mg	820 (7)	566 ± 130 (25) [30]	1560 ± 50 (10) [31]	1201 ± 276
Mn	9 (7)	6.5 (-) [31]	23 ± 13 (27) [21]	1.19 ± 0.31
Mo	-	-	-	0.167 ± 0.029
Na	7800 (1)	7800 (34) [23]	7800 (34) [23]	11 612 ± 2882
Nb	-	-	-	0.010 ± 0.026
Nd	-	-	-	0.0062 ± 0.0029
Ni	22.5 (3)	1.35 ± 1.00 (27) [24]	48.5 ± 9.0 (27) [21]	3.2 ± 3.5
P	7600 (3)	7590 ± 1120 (43) [29]	19 300 ± 14 300 (9) [22]	7907 ± 1385
Pb	125 (1)	125 ± 35 (25) [31]	125 ± 35 (25) [31]	0.69 ± 0.53
Pr	-	-	-	0.00149 ± 0.00090
Rb	15.0 (2)	14.9 ± 1.0 (43) [32]	15 ± 5 (10) [33]	14.8 ± 4.6
S	37 400 (1)	37 400 ± 2100 (9) [22]	37 400 ± 2100 (9) [22]	8787 ± 1616
Sb	-	-	-	0.162 ± 0.163
Sc	-	-	-	0.0257 ± 0.0157
Se	0.98 (10)	0.76 ± 0.37 (10) [34]	11.5 ± 6.0 (27) [21]	1.11 ± 0.32
Si	-	-	-	141 ± 79
Sm	-	-	-	0.0014 ± 0.0013
Sn	-	-	-	0.108 ± 0.097
Sr	4.4 (2)	3.8 ± 0.6 (43) [32]	5.0 ± 3.0 (10) [33]	3.9 ± 2.6
Tb	-	-	-	0.000166 ± 0.000081
Th	-	-	-	0.0018 ± 0.0011
Ti^a	141 (1)	141 ± 16 (27) [21]	141 ± 16 (27) [21]	1.52 ± 0.66
Tl	-	-	-	0.0020 ± 0.0018
Tm	-	-	-	0.000151 ± 0.000071
U	-	-	-	0.0021 ± 0.0031
Y	-	-	-	0.0071 ± 0.0038
Yb	-	-	-	0.00083 ± 0.00066
Zn	725 (39	55 ± 25 (23) [35]	3800 ± 65 (10) [30]	1112 ± 613
Zr	-	-	-	0.091 ± 0.115

Median, minimum and maximum value of means of chemical element mass fractions (mg/kg, on dry mass basis) in BPH tissue according to data from the literature in comparison with this work's results.

Element	Age Group 1, 38-65 year (n = 22)	Age Group 2, 66-83 year (n = 21)	t-test p-Value	U-test p-Value	Ratio (Group 2/1)
Ag	0.0293 ± 0.0058	0.0502 ± 0.0156	0.228	>0.05	1.71
Al	24.8 ± 5.4	24.1 ± 4.1	0.921	>0.05	0.97
Au	0.0037 ± 0.0016	0.0017 ± 0.0002	0.289	>0.05	0.45
B	1.60 ± 0.47	1.47 ± 0.35	0.831	>0.05	0.92
Ba	1.24 ± 0.32	1.21 ± 0.29	0.950	>0.05	0.98
Be	0.00094 ± 0.00006	0.00090 ± 0.00006	0.657	>0.05	0.96
Bi	0.122 ± 0.050	0.154 ± 0.068	0.723	>0.05	1.26
Br	32.7 ± 5.1	28.4 ± 4.2	0.530	>0.05	0.87
Ca	2,104 ± 277	1972 ± 217	0.717	>0.05	0.94
Cd	0.49 ± 0.13	1.56 ± 0.75	0.218	>0.05	3.18
Ce	0.0144 ± 0.0035	0.0115 ± 0.0020	0.498	>0.05	0.80
Co	0.0469 ± 0.0048	0.0748 ± 0.0137	0.078	>0.05	1.59
Cr	0.815 ± 0.108	1.170 ± 0.150	0.070	<0.05	1.44
Cs	0.0280 ± 0.0046	0.0198 ± 0.0015	0.150	>0.05	0.71
Cu	7.88 ± 0.54	11.8 ± 2.2	0.146	>0.05	1.50
Dy	0.00140 ± 0.00039	0.00169 ± 0.00032	0.584	>0.05	1.21
Er	0.00075 ± 0.00025	0.00069 ± 0.00013	0.837	>0.05	0.92
Fe	145 ± 20	136 ± 20	0.749	>0.05	0.94
Gd	0.00140 ± 0.00027	0.00163 ± 0.00046	0.671	>0.05	1.16
Hg	0.219 ± 0.036	0.285 ± 0.042	0.250	>0.05	1.30
Ho	0.000258 ± 0.000072	0.000373 ± 0.000058	0.260	>0.05	1.45
K	15 438 ± 1584	13 666 ± 221	0.328	>0.05	0.89
La	0.0190 ± 0.0028	0.0184 ± 0.0058	0.929	>0.05	0.97
Li	0.041 ± 0.013	0.036 ± 0.009	0.776	>0.05	0.89
Mg	1255 ± 112	1156 ± 127	0.574	>0.05	0.92
Mn	1.16 ± 0.14	1.22 ± 0.13	0.795	>0.05	1.05
Mo	0.166 ± 0.012	0.168 ± 0.014	0.901	>0.05	1.01
Na	11 494 ± 1620	11 712 ± 1008	0.912	>0.05	1.02
Nb	0.0200 ± 0.0170	0.0024 ± 0.0006	0.380	>0.05	0.12
Nd	0.0066 ± 0.0017	0.0058 ± 0.0009	0.709	>0.05	0.88
Ni	5.06 ± 2.13	1.68 ± 0.20	0.188	>0.05	0.33
P	8445 ± 840	7458 ± 283	0.317	>0.05	0.88
Pb	0.65 ± 0.24	0.72 ± 0.23	0.837	>0.05	1.11
Pr	0.00166 ± 0.00053	0.00135 ± 0.00027	0.621	>0.05	0.81
Rb	14.4 ± 1.2	15.2 ± 1.1	0.630	>0.05	1.06
S	9504 ± 1 016	8189 ± 156	0.267	>0.05	0.86
Sb	0.178 ± 0.067	0.146 ± 0.024	0.651	>0.05	0.82
Sc	0.0171 ± 0.0036	0.0333 ± 0.0058	0.036	<0.05	1.95
Se	1.13 ± 0.07	1.10 ± 0.12	0.833	>0.05	0.97
Si	183 ± 45	105 ± 13	0.157	>0.05	0.57
Sm	0.00130 ± 0.00048	0.00153 ± 0.00060	0.769	>0.05	1.18
Sn	0.054 ± 0.006	0.153 ± 0.047	0.089	<0.05	2.83
Sr	3.89 ± 1.29	3.86 ± 0.62	0.983	>0.05	0.99
Tb	0.000154 ± 0.000043	0.000177 ± 0.000031	0.678	>0.05	1.15
Th	0.00178 ± 0.00045	0.00182 ± 0.00053	0.959	>0.05	1.02
Ti^a	1.48 ± 0.32	1.57 ± 0.27	0.841	>0.05	1.06
Tl	0.00156 ± 0.00025	0.00248 ± 0.00114	0.471	>0.05	1.59
Tm	0.000136 ± 0.000036	0.000163 ± 0.000027	0.560	>0.05	1.20
U	0.0031 ± 0.0020	0.00125 ± 0.00036	0.414	>0.05	0.40
Y	0.0068 ± 0.0023	0.0074 ± 0.0012	0.821	>0.05	1.09
Yb	0.00076 ± 0.00040	0.00088 ± 0.00019	0.790	>0.05	1.16
Zn	1113 ± 88	1212 ± 141	0.239	>0.05	1.09
Zr	0.135 ± 0.089	0.062 ± 0.019	0.476	>0.05	0.46

Differences between mean values (M ± SEM) of the chemical element mass fraction (mg/kg, dry mass basis) in BPH.

Element	Stage 1-2 (n = 36)	Stage 3 (n = 7)	t-test p-Value	U-test p-Value	Ratio (Stages 3/(1-2))
Ag	0.046 ± 0.012	0.027 ± 0.008	0.205	>0.05	0.59
Al	27.0 ± 4.1	20.5 ± 5.3	0.362	>0.05	0.76
Au	0.0032 ± 0.0012	0.0015 ± 0.0003	0.204	>0.05	0.47
B	1.68 ± 0.47	1.30 ± 0.18	0.480	>0.05	0.77
Ba	1.42 ± 0.30	0.88 ± 0.11	0.123	>0.05	0.62
Be	0.000957 ± 0.000043	0.000850 ± 0.000087	0.323	>0.05	0.89
Bi	0.181 ± 0.055	0.068 ± 0.053	0.175	>0.05	0.38
Br	28.0 ± 3.7	39.1 ± 6.2	0.159	>0.05	1.40
Ca	1967 ± 248	2147 ± 162	0.560	>0.05	1.09
Cd	1.27 ± 0.67	0.73 ± 0.22	0.470	>0.05	0.57
Ce	0.0147 ± 0.0025	0.0095 ± 0.0023	0.157	>0.05	0.65
Co	0.0667 ± 0.0106	0.0485 ± 0.0078	0.184	>0.05	0.73
Cr	0.990 ± 0.061	0.993 ± 0.310	0.992	>0.05	1.00
Cs	0.0259 ± 0.0035	0.0195 ± 0.0017	0.142	>0.05	0.75
Cu	9.63 ± 1.91	10.2 ± 1.6	0.826	>0.05	1.06
Dy	0.00157 ± 0.00027	0.00153 ± 0.00051	0.946	>0.05	0.97
Er	0.00077 ± 0.00016	0.00064 ± 0.00022	0.646	>0.05	0.83
Fe	146 ± 17	118 ± 10	0.161	>0.05	0.81
Gd	0.00137 ± 0.00020	0.00180 ± 0.00069	0.586	>0.05	1.31
Hg	0.287 ± 0.035	0.176 ± 0.033	0.034	>0.05	0.61
Ho	0.000333 ± 0.000057	0.000300 ± 0.000097	0.782	>0.05	0.90
K	15 356 ± 1012	12 924 ± 426	0.058	=0.05	0.84
La	0.0216 ± 0.0038	0.0120 ± 0.0020	0.056	=0.05	0.56
Li	0.0371 ± 0.0096	0.0408 ± 0.0127	0.828	>0.05	1.10
Mg	1188 ± 121	1223 ± 111	0.836	>0.05	1.03
Mn	1.22 ± 0.13	1.15 ± 0.14	0.738	>0.05	0.94
Mo	0.166 ± 0.007	0.170 ± 0.023	0.870	>0.05	1.02
Na	11 400 ± 1039	11 984 ± 1753	0.786	>0.05	1.05
Nb	0.0145 ± 0.0124	0.0026 ± 0.0010	0.377	>0.05	0.18
Nd	0.0069 ± 0.0012	0.0050 ± 0.0011	0.286	>0.05	0.72
Ni	3.27 ± 1.50	3.13 ± 1.55	0.948	>0.05	0.96
P	8305 ± 590	7211 ± 356	0.147	>0.05	0.87
Pb	0.71 ± 0.17	0.65 ± 0.35	0.890	>0.05	0.92
Pr	0.00164 ± 0.00037	0.00123 ± 0.00039	0.461	>0.05	0.75
Rb	14.8 ± 0.9	14.9 ± 1.3	0.961	>0.05	1.01
S	9179 ± 732	8101 ± 228	0.202	>0.05	0.88
Sb	0.193 ± 0.044	0.080 ± 0.033	0.055	<0.05	0.41
Sc	0.0245 ± 0.0047	0.0308 ± 0.0081	0.541	>0.05	1.26
Se	1.13 ± 0.08	1.07 ± 0.15	0.751	>0.05	0.95
Si	162 ± 34	104 ± 18	0.171	>0.05	0.64
Sm	0.00161 ± 0.00056	0.00110 ± 0.00038	0.467	>0.05	0.68
Sn	0.073 ± 0.017	0.170 ± 0.070	0.259	>0.05	2.33
Sr	3.95 ± 0.76	3.63 ± 0.84	0.786	>0.05	0.92
Tb	0.000161 ± 0.000030	0.000175 ± 0.000048	0.819	>0.05	1.09
Th	0.00180 ± 0.00034	0.00180 ± 0.00079	0.999	>0.05	1.00
Ti^a	1.63 ± 0.24	1.35 ± 0.38	0.557	>0.05	0.83
Tl	0.00260 ± 0.00089	0.00115 ± 0.00020	0.167	>0.05	0.44
Tm	0.000157 ± 0.000025	0.000140 ± 0.000044	0.748	>0.05	0.89
U	0.0029 ± 0.0014	0.00077 ± 0.00017	0.196	>0.05	0.27
Y	0.0075 ± 0.0015	0.0063 ± 0.0020	0.648	>0.05	0.84
Yb	0.00087 ± 0.00026	0.00075 ± 0.00034	0.786	>0.05	0.86
Zn	1107 ± 93	1152 ± 161	0.814	>0.05	1.04
Zr	0.117 ± 0.059	0.053 ± 0.023	0.346	>0.05	0.45

Differences between mean values (M ± SEM) of the chemical element mass fraction (mg/kg, dry mass basis) in BPH of stage 1-2 and stage 3.

Pairs	Bi	Cr	Cs	Hg	K	Mo	Pb	Sb	Se	Sn	Zn
Ag	-0.19	-0.27	-0.16	0.32	0.14	0.13	0.15	0.22	-0.19	0.45	0.10
Al	-0.09	-0.04	-0.29	-0.09	0.23	-0.04	-0.13	0.04	-0.03	-0.11	-0.13
Au	-0.18	0.26	0.11	0.15	-0.27	0.34	-0.04	0.33	0.34	0.18	-0.17
B	0.10	0.02	-0.05	0.09	0.02	0.43	0.20	-0.09	-0.12	0.13	-0.15
Ba	0.14	-0.24	-0.27	0.01	-0.09	-0.16	-0.04	-0.28	-0.27	-0.05	0.19
Be	-0.19	0.25	-0.01	0.02	-0.06	0.08	0.01	-0.04	0.19	0.11	0.17
Bi	1.00	-0.26	0.16	-0.15	0.12	-0.23	0.23	-0.28	0.00	0.05	-0.07
Br	-0.44	0.03	-0.33	0.09	-0.31	0.38	0.13	0.01	-0.29	0.20	-0.17
Ca	0.16	-0.25	-0.20	-0.17	-0.22	0.06	0.07	-0.13	-0.21	0.20	-0.04
Cd	0.09	0.28	-0.24	0.03	-0.13	-0.01	0.26	-0.10	-0.10	-0.04	-0.27
Ce	0.65	-0.10	0.10	-0.06	0.13	-0.26	0.01	-0.22	-0.05	-0.09	-0.19
Co	0.14	0.12	-0.21	0.01	-0.21	-0.11	-0.01	0.18	-0.07	0.00	-0.09
Cr	-0.26	1.00	0.34	0.06	-0.13	0.16	-0.07	0.26	0.42	-0.21	0.03
Cs	0.16	0.34	1.00	0.27	0.21	0.17	0.27	0.07	0.32	0.08	0.15
Cu	-0.31	0.16	0.14	0.56	-0.10	0.39	0.14	-0.18	0.17	0.17	0.38
Dy	-0.03	-0.15	-0.31	-0.19	0.21	-0.26	-0.34	-0.11	-0.13	-0.21	-0.18
Er	-0.06	-0.09	-0.32	-0.26	0.33	-0.27	-0.32	0.01	-0.08	-0.14	-0.18
Fe	-0.13	0.42	0.04	0.09	-0.04	0.13	-0.04	0.29	0.28	-0.09	0.08
Gd	0.24	-0.15	-0.21	-0.22	0.32	-0.38	-0.24	-0.09	-0.11	-0.19	-0.23
Hg	-0.15	-0.06	0.27	1.00	0.12	0.29	0.36	0.08	0.41	0.19	0.38
Ho	-0.05	-0.08	-0.27	-0.20	0.38	-0.17	-0.31	0.02	-0.06	-0.18	-0.24
K	0.12	-0.13	0.21	0.12	1.00	-0.32	-0.18	-0.25	0.28	-0.34	0.02
La	0.03	-0.22	0.03	-0.22	0.12	-0.13	-0.07	0.04	-0.16	0.19	-0.08
Li	-0.02	0.31	0.09	-0.01	-0.20	0.31	0.26	0.25	0.19	0.33	-0.14
Mg	0.03	-0.01	0.26	0.15	0.20	-0.18	0.10	0.37	0.16	-0.30	0.57
Mn	-0.14	0.05	0.01	0.02	0.10	0.20	0.05	0.28	0.08	-0.02	-0.08
Mo	-0.23	0.16	0.17	0.29	-0.32	1.00	0.15	0.32	-0.14	0.61	-0.05
Na	-0.08	0.24	0.31	-0.01	0.23	-0.36	-0.14	0.30	0.12	-0.28	0.25
Nb	-0.18	-0.02	-0.23	0.34	-0.44	0.56	0.05	0.39	-0.22	0.45	-0.32
Nd	0.60	-0.13	0.01	-0.16	0.19	-0.34	-0.17	-0.16	-0.06	-0.12	-0.22
Ni	-0.21	-0.15	-0.06	0.45	-0.28	0.57	0.39	-0.12	-0.16	0.05	0.07
P	0.04	0.05	0.01	0.37	0.21	-0.03	-0.05	-0.22	0.35	-0.02	0.80
Pb	0.23	-0.07	0.27	0.36	-0.18	0.15	1.00	0.09	-0.05	0.36	-0.01
Pr	0.65	-0.12	0.06	-0.08	0.16	-0.28	-0.03	-0.21	-0.05	-0.10	-0.19
Rb	0.10	0.40	0.58	0.42	0.51	0.03	0.19	0.34	0.35	-0.15	0.27
S	-0.16	0.27	0.16	-0.02	0.68	-0.28	-0.25	-0.09	0.43	-0.40	0.08
Sb	-0.28	0.26	0.07	0.08	-0.25	0.32	0.09	1.00	-0.08	0.17	-0.09
Sc	0.59	0.01	0.36	0.52	0.22	-0.18	0.14	0.03	0.63	-0.34	0.63
Se	-0.01	0.42	0.32	0.41	0.28	-0.14	-0.05	-0.08	1.00	-0.13	0.28
Si	0.42	-0.05	-0.02	-0.01	0.32	-0.23	-0.11	-0.15	0.12	-0.14	-0.17
Sm	0.43	-0.14	-0.07	-0.13	0.24	-0.27	-0.11	-0.08	-0.05	-0.16	-0.21
Sn	0.05	-0.21	0.08	0.19	-0.34	0.61	0.36	0.17	-0.13	1.00	-0.11
Sr	0.39	-0.01	0.09	-0.22	-0.45	0.15	0.18	-0.12	-0.05	0.24	-0.22
Tb	0.15	-0.19	-0.29	-0.23	0.28	-0.35	-0.33	-0.06	-0.06	-0.14	-0.22
Th	0.53	0.01	0.04	-0.20	-0.01	-0.35	-0.12	-0.19	0.04	-0.17	-0.16
Ti^a	-0.01	0.06	-0.04	0.03	-0.02	0.16	-0.22	-0.24	-0.12	-0.05	0.17
Tl	-0.20	0.34	0.22	0.34	0.46	-0.25	-0.05	-0.16	0.64	-0.28	0.50
Tm	-0.14	-0.11	-0.28	-0.11	0.40	-0.23	-0.21	0.04	-0.10	-0.19	-0.21
U	-0.10	0.07	0.45	-0.01	-0.11	0.56	0.01	0.15	-0.29	0.40	0.00
Y	-0.03	-0.29	-0.15	0.01	0.04	-0.17	0.21	0.09	-0.21	0.37	-0.04
Yb	-0.08	-0.11	-0.35	-0.25	0.34	-0.30	-0.38	-0.03	-0.10	-0.17	-0.20
Zn	-0.07	0.03	0.15	0.38	0.02	-0.05	-0.01	-0.09	0.28	-0.11	1.00
Zr	-0.19	0.10	-0.13	-0.16	0.23	-0.33	-0.31	-0.17	0.09	-0.31	-0.07

Intercorrelations of selected pairs of the trace element mass fractions in normal prostate glands of adults (r-coefficient of correlation).

Pairs	Bi	Cr	Cs	Hg	K	Mo	Pb	Sb	Se	Sn	Zn
Ag	-0.37	0.09	-0.02	0.49	-0.01	0.12	0.34	-0.15	-0.46	0.13	0.72
Al	0.23	0.51	0.45	0.62	0.70	-0.03	0.60	0.42	0.70	-0.16	0.27
Au	-0.10	0.07	0.18	0.31	-0.02	0.10	0.13	-0.09	0.12	-0.19	0.06
B	0.40	0.09	-0.48	-0.16	-0.39	0.26	0.02	-0.37	-0.10	-0.22	-0.42
Ba	-0.22	0.29	0.42	0.79	0.58	-0.08	0.39	0.16	-0.11	0.04	0.57
Be	-0.05	0.37	0.18	0.53	0.18	0.09	0.55	-0.02	0.05	-0.06	0.33
Bi	1.00	0.13	0.09	0.02	0.25	0.15	-0.15	0,42	0.34	-0.56	-0.43
Br	-0.33	-0.18	-0.14	-0.39	-0.20	-0.50	0.37	-0.14	-0.22	0.85	-0.05
Ca	-0.50	0.63	-0.04	0.47	0.01	0.17	0.07	-0.35	0.29	0.05	0.46
Cd	0.36	0.59	-0.22	0.42	-0.09	0.25	-0.21	-0.16	0.26	-0.22	0.41
Ce	0.04	0.38	0.67	0.81	0.77	-0.11	0.66	0.48	0.41	-0.15	0.31
Co	0.34	0.35	0.44	0.48	0.38	-.0.21	0.31	0.33	0.37	-0.19	0.33
Cr	0.13	1.00	-0.31	0.40	0.01	0.74	-0.15	-0.23	0.49	-0.44	0.29
Cs	0.09	-0.31	1.00	0.47	0.84	-0.54	0.56	0.88	0.36	-0.12	-0.10
Cu	0.19	0.64	-0.21	0.50	0.01	0.29	-0.24	-0.22	0.36	-0.08	0.63
Dy	-0.02	0.66	0.02	0.35	0.28	0.09	0.44	-0.02	0.53	0.06	0.31
Er	0.04	0.58	0.26	0.44	0.58	0.15	0.39	0.15	0.47	-0.15	0.10
Fe	0.27	0.06	-0.34	0.27	-0.23	-0.06	-0.34	-0.16	-0.31	0.12	-0.29
Gd	-0.22	0.26	0.23	0.35	0.14	-0.13	0.79	0.16	0.41	0.34	0.36
Hg	0.02	0.40	0.47	1.00	0.54	0.18	0.43	0.26	-0.13	-0.23	0.56
Ho	0.04	0.75	-0.18	0.35	0,16	0.30	0.30	-0.18	0.27	0.01	0.45
K	0.25	0.01	0.84	0.54	1.00	-0.33	0.39	0.75	0.40	-0.26	-0.13
La	0.49	0.06	0.01	0.02	0.14	0.08	0.36	0.06	-0.01	-0.23	-0.32
Li	0.28	0.08	0.56	0.32	0.59	-0.02	0.16	0.65	0.24	-0.23	-0.14
Mg	-0.12	0.33	0.56	0.57	0.55	-0.19	0.40	0.38	0.73	-0.01	0.20
Mn	-0.19	-0.10	0.20	0.48	0.06	0.01	0.55	0.06	-0.56	0.23	0.44
Mo	0.15	0.74	-0.54	0.18	-0.33	1.00	-0.42	-0.52	-0.16	-0.56	0.14
Na	0.18	-0.28	0.35	0.16	0.26	-0.14	0.06	0.30	0.16	0.04	-0.21
Nb	-0.30	0.40	0.06	0.11	0.39	0.03	-0.08	-0.14	0.25	-0.15	0.02
Nd	0.07	0.42	0.58	0.82	0.73	0.04	0.68	0.42	0.29	-0.14	0.31
Ni	-0.38	0.46	-0.11	0.03	0.12	0.30	-0.28	-0.31	0.05	-0.30	-0.04
P	0.27	-0.29	0.83	0.48	0.75	-0.33	0.55	0.77	0.01	-0.16	-0.17
Pb	-0.15	-0.15	0.56	0.43	0.39	0.42	1.00	0.45	0.12	0.44	0.31
Pr	0.07	0.27	0.64	0.67	0.74	-0.09	0.75	0.53	0.33	-0.08	0.19
Rb	0.09	0.13	0.29	0.12	0.35	0.20	0.26	0.19	0.07	-0.39	0.16
S	0.31	-0.30	0.93	0.41	0.85	-0.43	0.58	0.92	0.31	-0.18	-0.28
Sb	0.42	0.23	0.88	0.26	0.75	-0.52	0.45	1.00	0.15	-0.21	-0.11
Sc	-0.82	0.50	-0.48	0.64	-0.32	0.12	0.05	-0.08	-0.29	0.53	0.77
Se	0.34	0.49	0.36	-0.13	0.40	-0.16	0.12	0.15	1.00	-0.31	-0.28
Si	0.21	-0.05	0.89	0.40	0.92	-0.40	0.49	0.83	0.57	-0.25	-0.24
Sm	0.06	0.70	0.21	0.65	0.41	0.02	0.20	0.11	0.61	-0.14	0.48
Sn	-0.56	-0.44	-0.12	-0.23	-0.26	-0.56	0.44	-0.21	-0.31	1.00	0.26
Sr	-0.04	0.45	0.34	-0.05	0.52	-0.16	-0.07	-0.08	0.50	-0.07	-0.22
Tb	0.09	0.25	0.33	0.53	0.59	0.16	0.16	0.25	0.05	-0.07	0.10
Th	-0.17	0.26	0.43	0.44	0.43	-0.33	0.77	0.33	0.52	0.27	0.35
Ti^a	-0.23	0.49	-0.36	0.21	-0.33	0.26	0.18	-0.52	-0.08	0.05	0.45
Tl	0.66	0.03	-0.18	-0.17	0.03	0.09	0.11	0.02	-0.13	-0.14	-0.46
Tm	-0.08	0.71	-0.06	0.44	0.20	0.23	0.46	-0.17	0.35	0.05	0.43
U	0.37	-0.08	0.86	0.58	0.86	-0.28	0.54	0.82	0.32	-0.23	-0.17
Y	0.05	0.74	0.05	0.43	0.42	0.23	0.29	-0.04	0.46	-0.13	0.22
Yb	-0.11	0.62	0.01	0.25	0.33	0.03	0.30	-0.10	0.50	0.07	0.21
Zn	-0.43	0.29	-0.10	0.57	-0.13	0.14	0.31	-0.11	-0.28	0.26	1.00
Zr	-0.20	0.08	0.01	0.17	-0.18	0.13	0.16	-0.26	0.02	-0.07	0.09

Intercorrelations of selected pairs of the trace element mass fractions in BPH prostate gland (r-coefficient of correlation).