Does chemotherapy-induced oxidative stress improve the survival rates of breast cancer patients?

Antioxid Redox Signal. 2011 Aug 15;15(4):903-9. doi: 10.1089/ars.2011.3993. Epub 2011 May 25.

Abstract

Antineoplastic agents induce oxidative stress leading to lipid, carbohydrate, protein, and DNA damage. We sought to explore the role of drug-induced oxidative stress on breast cancer patient's survival. We observed that neoadjuvant patients presented a marked raise in DNA damage and protein carbonyl levels after chemotherapy, whereas postchemotherapy DNA repair activity of the KU86 enzyme and total antioxidant capacity of the plasma were higher in the adjuvant group. With respect to patient's survival, we observed that increasing levels of KU86 and antioxidant capacity of the plasma during chemotherapy significantly influenced the survival rates of the patients, protecting from disease recurrence and death. Our results suggest that chemotherapy induces a certain level of systemic oxidative stress, which is maintained along successive clinical interventions and could influence the clinical outcome of the patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antigens, Nuclear / metabolism
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Antioxidants / therapeutic use
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Comet Assay
  • DNA Damage
  • DNA Repair / drug effects
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Ku Autoantigen
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy
  • Oxidative Stress*
  • Replication Protein A / metabolism
  • Survival Rate
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antigens, Nuclear
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Antioxidants
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Replication Protein A
  • Xrcc6 protein, human
  • Ku Autoantigen