Glutathione and lipid peroxidation levels in human breast tumors

The levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (LP) of breast tumor and surrounding tumor free (normal) tissues of 39 breast cancer female patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma and the relationship between these two parameters were investigated. Large interindividual variations in the levels of GSH and LP were found in both tumor and normal tissues. The mean GSH levels of tumors were significantly higher than those of normal tissues. This tendency did not change with the stage and grade (excluding grade 1) of the malignancy, menopausal status and chemotherapy treatment. No correlation was found between GSH level and stage or grade of malignancy (p > 0.05). However, although more than half of the tumor samples (23/39, 59%) had higher LP levels than their corresponding normal tissues, no significant difference was noted between the mean LP levels of tumor and normal tissues. This tendency did not change with the stage and grade of the malignancy, and menopausal status and chemotherapy treatment. No relationship was observed between the LP level and stage or grade of malignancy (p > 0.05). Overall, no association existed between the levels of GSH and LP in tumors (p > 0.05). These results reveal that the GSH, but not LP, could be a marker of breast malignancy and that the increase in GSH level is not sufficient to lower the LP level in human breast tumors.