Intracellular antioxidant defence in lung cancer

Abstract

Free oxygen radicals play a significant role in pathogenesis of lung cancer. At the systemic and cellular levels, oxygen radicals can cause tissue injury, DNA damage and mutational changes. On the other hand, tissue injuries and cell damage caused by oxygen species can be due to deficient removal of free radicals. So, the antioxidant defence has critical importance in prevention of carcinogenesis. In the present study the antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (CPx) activities were evaluated in 21 patients with lung cancer before surgery or radio-chemotherapy and in 12 healthy volunteers. SOD activity was found significantly lower in the cancer group than that of the control group (p