உயிர் வேதியியல் & பகுப்பாய்வு உயிர்வேதியியல்

சுருக்கம்

Evaluation of Serum Antioxidants during Adjuvant Chemotherapy of Breast Cancer- A Prospective Observational Study

Kadam Charushila Y* and Abhang Subodhini A

Background: The enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense systems of the cell prevent oxidant mediated damage to different biomolecules by neutralizing free radicals generated during anticancer drug metabolism. Reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione dependent enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-s-transferase (GST) are the key determinants of cellular response to oxidative stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in serum levels of these antioxidants after first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Material and Methods: Histopathologically proven 60 breast cancer patients were included in the present study. The blood samples were taken after surgery before chemotherapy and after 3 weeks of administration of first cycle of chemotherapy. 30 healthy female controls were selected for comparison. Serum GSH and GST were estimated by spectrophotometric methods and serum GPx was estimated by ELISA.

Results: The serum levels of GSH, GST and GPx were significantly decreased (P<0.0001) after first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients as compare to levels before chemotherapy. A significant positive correlation was found between serum levels of GSH and GST as well as GSH and GPx after first chemotherapy cycle.

Conclusion: Our data suggests that administration of chemotherapeutic drugs causes depletion of reduced glutathione and glutathione-dependent enzymatic antioxidants such as GST and GPx, which may be due to higher oxidative stress after chemotherapy.