Relationship Between Urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanine (8-OHdG) Levels and Clinicopathological Findings in Hepatobiliary...

Oxidative stress is defined as an imbalance between the pro-oxidant and antioxidant potential of cells leading to intracellular DNA damage. To clarify the oxidative stress response as a tumor marker, we investigated measurement of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in hepatobiliary diseases.

Relationships between urinary 8-OHdG levels and clinicopathological factors were analyzed in 101 patients, including 84 with hepatobiliary malignancies, and 18 healthy volunteers. Co-existing biliary inflammation was detected in 8 patients.

Urinary 8-OHdG levels did not correlate with any clinical or liver functional parameters. The existence of inflammation and any tumor-related factor did not correlate with urinary 8-OHdG levels either. Urinary 8-OHdG levels were significantly higher in patients with benign and malignant diseases than in healthy volunteers (p<0.05), but not significantly different between benign and malignant diseases. Among patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma, urinary 8-OHdG levels tended to be higher in patients with lymph node metastasis-positive than in those with lymph node-negative disease (p=0.057).

The clinical significance of oxidative DNA damage and increases in its urinary metabolites in patients with hepatobiliary malignancies or inflammatory diseases remain unknown. Further studies are necessary to clarify the relationship between node metastasis and oxidative stress as a prognostic marker.