Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is still a major health problem worldwide. Little is known about the etiology of pancreatic cancer as an important cause of cancer mortality in developed countries. 

Materials and Methods: In this study, we measured the serum Zn, Se, Cu and Cd levels of PC patients compared to healthy subjects from the same region in Iran, using atomic absorption spectrometry . We have also examined the contributions of age, sex and smoking status to overall risk for PC.

Results: In this case-control study, a significant difference in both Zn and Cd levels was observed between PC and control group (P<0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively). Zn level in Pc cases was 63.12 ±26.45 μg/dL and this value was found statistically lower compared to the controls ( 107 .05± 30.23 μg/dl). The mean concentration of Cd in patients ( 3.10 ±1.05 μg/l) was higher than the healthy subjects ( 1.52±0.88 μg/l). Moreover, no significant difference was observed for Se and Cu between the two groups (P>0.05). Taking into consideration the sex of the subjects, a significant decrease in serum Zn levels of PC patients was observed in females compared to males (P<0.01).

Conclusion: We found that Cd is a plausible pancreatic carcinogen . In addition, a significant relationship between Zn metabolism and PC is suggested.