Glutathione and cysteine levels in human tumour biopsies

There is evidence that some human tumours could be treated with a combination of buthionine sulfoximine and hypoxic cell sensitizers. However, clinical application of this technique requires a prior knowledge of the level of non-protein bound sulfhydryl (NPSH) compounds in these tumours. The present study provides data on the levels of glutathione (GSH) and cysteine (CYS) in human tumour biopsies from the cervix and from the head and neck. The NPSH compounds were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. The median GSH values were 20.5 nmol/mg protein (cervix) and 23 nmol/mg protein (head and neck) while the median CYS values were 4.4 (cervix) and 4.2 nmol/mg protein (head and neck). The values varied widely from one patient to another.