In Kenya, cancer is ranked third among the leading causes of deaths. 70-80% of cancer patients
are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease when it is not amenable to cure. This could be
attributed to the fact that most patients only present themselves for check-ups when the disease
has progressed. To date, early screening and diagnostic procedures used are ineffective and costly
in practice. There are several causes of cancer, amongst which include prolonged exposure to
high concentrations of toxic heavy metals; which is almost unavoidable in our daily life due to
their physiological and chemical properties. However, several studies have shown an association
of Heavy Metals with different Cancers and Cancer Stages. The current study aims at
establishing an association between these heavy metals in the human body and various common
cancers in Kenya. The samples for this study will be nail clippings. The target population will be
composed of approximately 100 to 150 cancer patients of various stages; and 80-100 non-cancer
control group. The respondents will be those aged 50 years and below. Analysis of the nail
clippings will be done using Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) technique to detect
As, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, Fe, Se and Hg which will be the selected heavy metals for this study.
R Programming for Data Science will be used for characterization of the types of cancers in
terms of the specific toxic heavy metals in nail clippings and the various stages of the disease
progression; for use as a potential tool in the early diagnosis through screening.
