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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Diabetes Complications, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Dietary Supplements, Female, Flow Cytometry, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Lymphocytes, Male, Metabolic Syndrome, Middle Aged, Monocytes, Neoplasm Staging, Neoplasms, Prognosis, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Zinc.
user
Does zinc supplementation improve anticancer activity of monocytes in type-2 diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome? Context: Transmembrane tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, found on monocytes, is a body's key defense against cancer. In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and metabolic syndrome, immunity is suppressed, resulting in a high risk of several inflammatory disorders and cancer. Seventeen patients with type 2 DM and metabolic syndrome were supplemented with either 30 mg of elemental zinc/day or placebo for eight weeks. Transmembrane TNF-α-expressing monocytes and lymphocytes, and plasma TNF-α levels were analyzed before and after supplementation. The present study revealed that zinc supplementation significantly increased the proportion of monocytes expressing transmembrane TNF-α. While the plasma TNF-α levels and TNF-α expressing lymphocytes were not significantly altered in the zinc-treated and placebo groups, higher proportion of TNF-α bound monocytes were observed in the zinc-treated group.
assistant
Because functional transmembrane TNF-α was shown to be implicated in defense mechanisms, these findings suggest that zinc supplementation may benefit immune response against cancer in patients with DM and metabolic syndrome. Final Decision: yes