Oxidative status in patients submitted to conization and radiation treatments for uterine cervix neoplasia

BackgroundCervical cancer is a major cause of morbidity among women. We investigated the treatment effect on oxidative status from patients submitted to radiotherapy or conization surgery to high-grade SIL (squamous intraepithelial lesion) treatment, and oxidative profile from patients newly diagnosed for uterine cervix cancer, without treatment.MethodsWe determined the catalase activity in blood, reduced glutathione (GSH) in plasma, TBARS and protein carbonyl content from serum samples of the patients.ResultsThe catalase activity, GSH levels, TBARS and protein carbonyl content had no statistical differences related to the controls, neither when the 2 treatments were compared, possibly because the antioxidant defense may be acting in the first period of the neoplasic transformation, and maybe indicating a possible arrest of the tumor cells caused by the efficiency of the treatments. In the non-treated patients, TBARS and protein carbonyl contents, GSH levels and catalase activity were shown to be increased comparing with the treated patients and compared with the controls indicating an tumor effect on oxidative profile, and the antioxidant activity been increased in the beginning of the tumor development.ConclusionsWe suggest that the treatments were efficient in arrest of the tumor.