A study of pyrimidine base damage in relation to oxidative stress and cancer.
BACKGROUND
A long-standing hypothesis is that oxidative stress is a risk factor for cancer. Support for this hypothesis comes from observations of higher levels of oxidative damage in the DNA of WBC of cancer patients compared with healthy controls.


METHODS
Two generally overlooked types of DNA damage, the formamide modification and the thymine glycol modification, both derived from pyrimidine bases, were assayed as markers of oxidative stress. Damage levels were measured in the DNA of WBC of ovarian cancer patients and of healthy controls.


RESULTS
The levels of both modifications were higher in ovarian cancer patients than in healthy controls although in the case of the formamide modification age could not be ruled out as a factor.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results in combination with other published measurements of oxidative DNA damage support the hypothesis that oxidative damage, on average, is higher in WBC of cancer patients than in healthy controls.
Iijima
H
H
Department of Cell Stress Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA.
Patrzyc
H B
HB
Budzinski
E E
EE
Freund
H G
HG
Dawidzik
J B
JB
Rodabaugh
K J
KJ
Box
H C
HC
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004249:DNA Damage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000378:metabolism*
D011743:Pyrimidines; C030986:pyrimidine