title: Assessment of oxidative stress in tumors and histologically normal mucosa from patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a preliminary study.
abstract: Over 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and the overall 5-year survival rate is up to 50%. The redox status of these cancers is an important factor in carcinogenesis and plays a role in radioresistance and therefore locoregional recurrences. However, knowledge of the redox status is rather limited. Glutathione is the major reactive oxygen species scavenger in normal cells. We compared the levels of tissue redox potential in HNSCC tumor tissue and compared them with those of the adjacent, histologically cancer-free, mucosa. A total of 36 patients with HNSCC were included in the study. The redox status of tumor and normal adjacent tissue was measured by the oxidized/reduced glutathione (GSSG/GSH) ratio in capillary electrophoresis. The GSSG/GSH ratio in the tumor tissue was lower compared with adjacent normal tissue in 38% of the patients. Pretherapy HNSCC tumor tissue has variable GSH levels compared with adjacent cancer-free mucosa. This difference was not related to clinical and pathological parameters. Further studies are required to determine whether the GSSG/GSH ratio plays a role in carcinogenesis and could predict radioresistance.
authors.affiliation: Departments of aMaxillofacial Surgery bSurgical Pathology, CHU de Charleroi, Hôpital Vésale cExperimental Medicine Laboratory (ULB 222 Unit), Free University of Brussels, ISPPC, CHU de Charleroi, Montigny-le-Tilleul dLaboratory of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels eLaboratory of Molecular Parasitology, IBMM, Faculty of Science, ULB, Gosselies, Belgium.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dequanter
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van de Velde
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nuyens
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Antwerpen
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vanhamme
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zouaoui Boudjeltia
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vanhaeverbeek
authors.forename: Dany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brohée
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lothaire
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide / Q000378:metabolism*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D005978:Glutathione; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide