Correlation between TBARS levels and glycolytic enzymes: the importance to the initial evaluation of clinical outcome of colorectal cancer patients

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been associated with high levels of lipid peroxidation, probably due to neoplasic tissue metabolism. Our objectives were to relate lipid peroxidation with the evolution of CRC and with various biomarkers (GGT, ALP, LDH, CEA) to assess its prognostic value. A longitudinal study was conducted with CRC patients (n=43), using FOLFOX4. At the end of the treatment, patients were grouped into two groups: poor outcome (PO) for those patients whose computed tomography showed signs of metastasis, not reduced or increased in the previous implants, and not reduced or increased in CEA levels and good outcome (GO) for the opposite trends. PO patients had a significant increase in TBARS levels, being different from other group in cycles 4, 5, and 6 of chemotherapy. After cycle 6 of chemotherapy, GO patients had higher SOD (27%) and catalase (33%) activity. TBARS levels showed a positive correlation with biomarkers at the beginning of the treatment, which disappeared after six cycles of chemotherapy, when TBARS levels of the PO group started to increase; the other parameters increased at a later time. Because the serum TBARS levels in GO patients did not increase after the beginning of chemotherapy, it is expected that the increase is not a result of the effects of chemotherapy but of sickness evolution. It is possible that the systemic assessment of lipid peroxidation might become an additional marker because it occurs earlier than other biomarkers and could therefore be useful in the prognosis of CRC patients.