Assessement of the Precursors of Heme Biosynthesis in Biological Media of Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

ISEE-0671 Background and Objective: Regulation and control of heme/porphyrin biosynthesis is very important for therapy of cancer. Some experimental studies found an increased level of protoporphyrin IX in human breast cancer cells. We tried to assess the precursors of heme biosynthesis in biological media of patients with breast cancer and benign tumour. Methods: Delta-aminolevulinic acid (delta-ALA) in urine and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALAD) activity in blood of 57 breast cancer patients and 28 benign breast tumour patients were measured by spectrophotometry. Results: The mean delta-ALA concentration in urine was 17.16 μmol/g creatinine (95% CI = (15.15–19.16) for cancer patients and 12.86 μmol/g creatinine (95% CI = 10.65–15.07) for benign tumour patients (P = 0.01). The figures for delta-ALAD were 39.16 U/L (95% CI = 36.68–41.64) and 39.01 U/L (95% CI = 35.21–42.82), respectively (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings show that heme/porphyrin biosynthesis in breast cancer patients is affected more than in benign tumour patients. The mean concentration of delta-aminolevulinic acid in urine of cancer patients is significantly higher than that in benign tumour patients.