Interactions between Oxidative Stress, Lipid Profile and Antioxidants in Breast Cancer: A Case Control Study

Abstract

Oxidant/antioxidant balance has been suggested as an important factor for initiation and progression of cancer.The objective of this study was to determine changes in the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO),total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathioneperoxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in serum samples of breast cancer patients(n=30) and healthy subjects (n=100). MDA and NO levels were found to be increased in breast cancer patientscompared to the healthy subject group (p<0.05). Total cholesterol and triglycerides were elevated; and HDLcholesterollevel was found to be decreased in the cancer patients as compared to the healthy subjects (p<0.05).Compared to the healthy group, both serum TAC levels (p<0.001) and activity of SOD and GSH-Px (p=0.05) werefound to be decreased in the breast cancer patients as compared to the healthy controls. Considering the datapresented in this study, we suggest that free radicals induce lipid eroxidation and peroxidation of unsaturatedfatty acid with decreased activity of enzymatic antioxidants in breast cancer.