Study on the relationship between intake of trace elements and breast cancer mortality with chemometric methods.

Several chemometric methods were employed to survey the interaction among the trace elements and the relationship between the intake of these elements and the breast cancer mortality. It is indicated that there are strong interactions among the trace elements so as to form a dynamic balance; the intake of Cr is the most important factor that could cause the increase of breast cancer mortality; no definite relation can be observed between the intake of Cu and that of Zn. However, either the ratio of the intake of Cu and that of Zn or the intake of Cd could show a certain state of dynamic balance among some of the trace elements. Comparison of the analytical methods reveals that it is important to select a suitable method so as to obtain the most appropriate explanation.