2016 Volume 66 Issue 2 Pages 117-121
Background and Aim: Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production and the elimination of oxidant species. In cancer and infection, white blood cells overproduce reactive oxygen species, causing the oxidative stress. In the present study, we evaluated the oxidative stress in patients with cancer, and compared the relationship between the oxidative stress and the number of white blood cells (WBC).
Subjects and Methods: The subjects were head and neck carcinoma patients (HNC) who were treated by chemotherapy (n=10), and blood tests were achieved before and after treatment. Otitis media patients (OM) who had surgery were also applied (n=10). The diacron-reactive oxygen metabolite (dROM), which indicated the concentration of hydroperoxides in serum, was measured as an index of oxidative stress. The biological antioxidant potential (BAP), which indicated the concentration of deoxidized iron ion in serum, was also measured as an index of anti-oxidative status.
Results: The dROM was significantly high in HNC, although dROM in OM was normal. There was no difference in BAP between HNC and OM. In HNC, WBC decreased significantly after chemotherapy, but changes in dROM did not show a particular trend. There was no relationship between them. In OM, WBC tended to increase after surgery, but dROM did not change.
Conclusions: The dROM did not increase after OM surgery, meaning that general anesthesia and surgery did not change the balance of oxidative stress and antioxidant potential. In HNC, a strong oxidative stress was present, as dROM was very high even before treatment. The dROM stayed high, whereas WBC decreased after chemotherapy. Reactive oxygen species in HNC patients might not be produced by WBC.
