Background: Cigarette smoke is strongly associated with NSCLC, but the carcinogenesis of NSCLC is poorly understood.
Methods: To discover the role of oxidative stress and anti-oxidative defense in NSCLC, we measured NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity, myeloperoxidase activity, 8-OHdG, and glutathione content from lung specimens. These came from 32 patients: 22 NSCLC patients and ten controls without cancer.
Results: In NSCLC patients, NOX activity was significantly higher both in the malignant (p = 0.001) and non-malignant (p = 0.044) samples from NSCLC patients, than in the control specimens. Myeloperoxidase activity was lower (p = 0.001) and glutathione content (p = 0.009) higher in malignant tissue. No significant difference was observable in 8-OHdG content between patient groups.
Conclusions: Increase in NOX activity in the malignant tissues was independent of smoking history and myeloperoxidase activity, suggesting its independent role in NSCLC pathogenesis.