Estimation of MDA and its Correlation with Homocysteine and Antioxidant Enzymes in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Oxidative stress results from an imbalance between the production of radical oxygen species (Reactive Oxygen Species; ROS) and antioxidant cell capacities. Radical oxygen species have long been considered as toxic byproducts of normal oxygen metabolism and involved in much pathology. However, for several years, the controlled production of free radicals appeared as an essential mechanism of the cellular signaling which participates in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. The study was designed to evaluate the medical relevance of hyper-homocysteinemia and antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, catalase and malondialdehyde) before and after ovarian cancer treatment.

Blood samples were taken from Oncology Unit at Mirjan Teaching hospital in Hilla Town, Iraq. Forty patients suffered from ovarian cancer were chosen in our study and forty healthy subjects (control group).

Data from current study revealed that there was significant increase in lipids peroxidation, measured as MDA, in the serum of ovarian cancer patients who were not taking any medication and higher than controls (P<0.012). in addition, we found that methotrexate resulted in a significant increase in MDA levels when compared with MDA levels in patients who did not take any medication. The mean±SD plasma Homocysteine levels in ovarian cancer patients before and after treatment were (16.34±0.15μmol/L) and (19.37± 0.15μmol/L, respectively, while the mean±SD value for controls was (8.37±0.17μmol/L. In addition, it was found that the mean±SD serum glutathione peroxidase and catalase levels in ovarian cancer patients were significantly higher than controls. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between Homocysteine levels and lipids peroxidation levels in the patient group but not in the control group, while a negative correlation was observed between glutathione peroxidase and catalase levels with lipids peroxidation levels in patients group but not in the controls.

There was positive correlation between Homocysteine level and lipid peroxidation in women with ovarian cancer before and after receiving remediation, whereas a negative correlation existed between antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase) with Homocysteine level in women with ovarian cancer before and after receiving medication.