Activities of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in endometrial cancer

Antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation were analysed in normal endometrium and endometrial cancer tissues from Finnish and Japanese patients. The catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities of normal endometrium were significantly lower in Finns than in Japanese. Lipid peroxidation was slightly higher in endometrial cancer as compared with normal endometrium both in the Finns and in the Japanese. When cancer tissues were compared with normal endometrium both in Finns and Japanese the activity of superoxide dismutase was significantly lower in cancer tissue than in normal endometrium. In Finns glutathione S-transferase activity was also lower in endometrial cancer tissue than in normal endometrium, and a similar tendency was also found in Japanese. This study suggests that endometrial cancer tissue is associated with an impaired enzymic antioxidant defence system.