Antioxidants and Lipid Peroxidation Status In Women with Breast Cancer

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancy in women and is the leading cause of cancer related death worldwide. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the development of tumours. Several mechanisms leading to oxidative stress have been proposed in cancer patients. In this study we aimed to measure and compare the levels of zinc, superoxide dismutase, catalase, vitamin C, vitamin E, and malondialdehyde in breast cancer patients and age matched healthy controls. Methods: In this comparative cross sectional study, 30 confirmed breast cancer cases and 30 age and sex matched controls were enrolled after taking their consent. Blood sample was collected in EDTA vial, and the parameters of oxidative stress were evaluated by spectrophotometric and atomic absorption spectrophotometric methods. Results: Zinc and MDA level were significantly higher (p<0.001) in cases (106.4 mu g/dl and 7.12 nmol/ml) compared to controls (89.8 mu g/dl and 3.99nmol/ml). In contrast, there were lower catalase, vitamin C and E levels in cases (28.7 +/- 14.56, 0.92 +/- 0.35 and 0.68 +/- 0.13 mg/dl) compared to controls (37.1 +/- 14.7,1.62 +/- 0.59 and 1.02 +/- 0.22 mg/dl) and were statistically significant (p<0.05 and p<0.001). Whereas, superoxide dismutase was lower in cases compared to controls, but was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Zinc was found to be higher in our study as it is a pivotal element in all rapidly growing tissues. Enhanced lipid peroxidation observed in the circulation of breast cancer patients in our study can be attributed to over production of ROS and deficiency of antioxidant defences. Oxidative stress in cancer cells may trigger excessive consumption of antioxidants as a compensatory mechanism which lead to its lower concentration.