Serum zinc and copper in oral/oropharyngeal carcinoma. A study of seventy-five patients.

Seventy-five patients with oral/oropharyngeal carcinoma were studied to assess the relationship between serum zinc and copper levels, radiation-induced taste loss, and tumor status. There were no significant differences between pretreatment and posttreatment serum mineral levels in cancer patients and in 21 healthy persons who served as controls. Of 30 patients who did not experience spontaneous postradiation taste recovery and were supplemented with zinc sulfate daily for at least 1 month, 11 reported improvement in taste. Serum zinc levels rose markedly in the patients with taste improvement.