Abstract
BackgroundOxidative stress is characterised by an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that disrupts the intracellular reduction-oxidation (redox) balance and has been implicated in various diseases including cancer. Malignant tumors of connective tissue or sarcomas account for approximately 1% of all cancer diagnoses in adults and around 15% of paediatric malignancies per annum. There exists no information on the alterations of oxidant/antioxidant status of sarcoma patients in literature. This study was aimed to determine the levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant defence in patients with primary bone and soft tissue sarcoma and to investigate if there exists any significant differences in these levels between both the sarcomas.MethodsThe study cohort consisted of 94 subjects; 20 soft tissue sarcoma, 27 primary bone sarcoma and 47 healthy controls. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyls were determined to assess their oxidative stress levels while antioxidant status was evaluated using catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), thiols and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC).ResultsSarcoma patients showed significant increase in plasma and urinary MDA and serum protein carbonyl levels (p < 0.05) while significant decreases were noted in TEAC, thiols, CAT and SOD levels (p < 0.05). No significant difference in oxidative damage was noted between both the sarcomas (p > 0.05).ConclusionsIn conclusion, an increase in oxidative stress and decrease in antioxidant status is observed in both primary bone and soft tissue sarcomas with a similar extent of damage. This study offers the basis for further work on whether the manipulation of redox balance in patients with sarcoma represents a useful approach in the design of future therapies for bone disease.
Highlights
Oxidative stress is characterised by an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that disrupts the intracellular reduction-oxidation balance and has been implicated in various diseases including cancer
Our study aims to determine the role of oxidative stress in primary bone and soft tissue sarcoma patients by assessing lipid and protein damage as well as enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels
Mann-Whitney U test showed that significantly higher MDA levels were observed in the plasma and urine of sarcoma patients as compared to the controls
Summary
Oxidative stress is characterised by an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that disrupts the intracellular reduction-oxidation (redox) balance and has been implicated in various diseases including cancer. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) present as beneficial substances such as in chemotherapy and cancer apoptosis [3,4], but have proven their role in carcinogenesis [3,7]. They are either formed via enzymatic reactions (respiratory chain, cytochrome P450 system and phagocytosis), or through non-enzymatic reactions such as those offset by ionising radiation and those involving oxygen with organic compounds [7]. The balance of ROS as a beneficial substance is accomplished by the antioxidant defence system that is composed of enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, SOD; glutathione peroxidase, GPx; glutathione reductase, GRx and catalase, CAT) and non-enzymatic (glutathione, GSH and coenzyme Q10, CoQ10) [4]
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