Background: Singlet oxygen (¹O₂) oxidizes targets through the production of secondary reactive oxygen species (SOS). Cancers induce oxidative stress changing with progression, the resulting antioxidant status differing from one patient to the other. The aim of this study was to determine the oxidative status of patients with resectable Non-Small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and the potential influence of antioxidants, compared to sera from healthy donors.
Materials and methods: Serum samples from 10 women and 28 men, 19 adenocarcinomas (ADK), 15 patients N1 or M1 were submitted to a photoreaction producing ¹O₂. Then, samples were supplemented with vitamins (Vit C, Vit E), or glutathione (GSH).
Results: Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and metastatic SCCs induced a lower SOS rate. While Vit C increased SOS in controls as in patients with metastases, Vit E or the combination of Vit E and C strongly reduced SOS. GSH alone lightly decreased SOS in controls but had no effect in patients either alone or combined with Vit C.
Conclusion: In "early" lung cancers, SOS are comparable or lower than for healthy persons. The role of Vitamins varies with gender, cancer type, and metastases. This suggests that an eventual supplementation should be performed on a per-patient basis to evidence any effect.
Keywords: NSCLC; glutathione; reactive oxygen species (ROS); singlet oxygen; vitamin.