High plasma concentrations of nitrite/nitrate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
Nitric oxide (NO) is considered to play a central role in macrophage or Kupffer cell-induced tumor cytotoxicity. Hepatocytes also produce NO in response to several inflammatory stimuli. Thus, there is a possibility that NO production by hepatic tissue is accelerated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We, therefore, measured plasma nitrite/nitrate levels as an index of in vivo NO production in patients with HCC.


METHODS
Plasma nitrite/nitrate levels were measured using Griess reaction in 95 patients with chronic hepatitis (CH) and compensated liver cirrhosis (LC) with (n = 48) or without HCC (n = 47), as well as 45 healthy control subjects. Possible factors related to nitrite/nitrate levels were evaluated for each subject.


RESULTS
Plasma nitrite/nitrate levels in patients with HCC based on CH (mean +/- SD, 71.7 +/- 23.1 microM) and LC (52.4 +/- 20.2 microM) were significantly higher than those without HCC (CH, 31.1 +/- 15.0 microM; LC, 34.6 +/- 16.1 microM) (p < 0.01). Plasma nitrite/nitrate levels in patients with HCC based on CH were significantly higher than those in patients with HCC based on LC (p < 0.05). Simple regression analysis showed that plasma nitrite/nitrate levels significantly correlated with both tumor surface area (r = 0.577, p = 0.001) and tumor volume (r = 0.532, p = 0.003).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with HCC have elevated plasma nitrite/nitrate levels correlating to tumor volume as well as tumor surface area.
Moriyama
A
A
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Industrial and Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan School of Medicine, Kitakyushu.
Masumoto
A
A
Nanri
H
H
Tabaru
A
A
Unoki
H
H
Imoto
I
I
Ikeda
M
M
Otsuki
M
M
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009566:Nitrates / Q000097:blood*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009573:Nitrites / Q000097:blood*; D011517:Prothrombin Time; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis
D009566:Nitrates; D009573:Nitrites; D012709:Serum Albumin; D009569:Nitric Oxide