Lipid Peroxides, Superoxide Dismutase, Catalase and Glutathione Peroxidase in Lung Carcinoma Tissue

Today reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generally believed to be important in the appearance of carcinoma. We examined the levels of lipid peroxides, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) in lung carcinoma tissue of several patients. In lung carcinoma tissue, an increase of lipid peroxide levels and GSH-px activity-which scavenges H2O2 and metabolizes already formed lipid peroxides-was observed. There was no significant difference between SOD activity of carcinoma and normal lung tissue. SOD scavenges the superoxide radical, O2-. Catalase activity-which scavenges H2O2-was decreased in lung carcinoma tissue. The results suggest that lipid peroxides are generated due to the concentration of ROS. It was concluded that GSH-px activity is strongly induced to decrease the concentrations of lipid peroxides that are produced by lung carcinoma tissue.