LONDON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A British study has found the possibility to detect breast cancer at an early stage by monitoring the level of zinc in human bodies in simple blood tests.

A research team led by Oxford University scientists used techniques for analysing trace metal isotopes in climate change and planetary formation studies, and applied them to how the human body processes metals, according to the study published on Tuesday.

They reported their findings in the British scientific journal Metallomics, showing that changes in the isotopic composition of zinc, which can be detected in a person's breast tissue, could make it possible to identify a "biomarker" - a measurable indicator - of early breast cancer.

The pilot study analysed zinc in the blood and blood serum of ten subjects (five breast cancer patients and five healthy controls), along with a range of breast tissue samples from breast cancer patients.

By using techniques that are over 100 times more sensitive to changes in the isotopic composition of metals than those currently used by clinicians, the researchers were able to show that they could detect key differences in the level of zinc when cancer subtly alters the way how cells process the metal.

"It has been known for over a decade that breast cancer tissues contain high concentrations of zinc but the exact molecular mechanisms that might cause this have remained a mystery," said Dr. Fiona Larner of Oxford University, who led the research.

"Our work shows that techniques commonly used in earth sciences can help us to understand not only how zinc is used by tumour cells but also how breast cancer can lead to changes in zinc in an individual's blood - holding out the promise of an easily-detectable biomarker of early breast cancer," he added.