Evidence of oxidative and nitrosative stress in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma

BackgroundWe conducted a study to evaluate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) simultaneously together with the antioxidant status in patients with cervical carcinoma.MethodsWe measured lipid peroxidation product, including malondialdehye (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) products, including nitrite (NO2−), nitrate (NO3−) and total nitrite (TNO2−) and antioxidant enzymes in 45 patients with cervical cancer and compared them against 30 healthy controls.ResultsPlasma as well as erythrocyte MDA and plasma NO levels was higher (p < 0.001) in cervical cancer as compared to healthy controls. Antioxidant enzymes, Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, were decreased (p < 0.001) whereas glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was increased (p < 0.001) in cervical cancer patients. Lipid peroxidation and NO products accumulation correlated significantly with a deranged antioxidant system.ConclusionsWe demonstrated a possible involvement of both oxidative and nitrosative stress, as evidenced by increased lipid peroxidation and NO levels with altered antioxidant defense system in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer.