Disturbance of pro-oxidative/antioxidative balance in allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

High dose chemotherapy causes increased free radical formation and depletion of tissue antioxidants. Whether allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has an effect on oxidative stress is uncertain. The aims of the study were to determine the effect of allogeneic HSCT on plasma concentrations of antioxidants and oxidative stress biomarkers, and to investigate their relationships with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), conditioning regimens, and transplant-related mortality (TRM) in patients with hematological malignancies. Patients (n=25) undergoing allogeneic HSCT from HLA-matched sibling donors were enrolled in the study. Plasma oxidant and antioxidant status were measured at day -1 before transplantation and 30 days after HSCT. In both myeloablative (n=14) and non-myeloablative (n=11) transplant groups, the mean levels of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) increased after allogeneic HSCT (p <0.01), whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) activities decreased compared with baseline values (p <0.01). No significant relationships were found between either the pretransplant or post-transplant mean levels of the oxidative stress parameters and the existence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), the type of conditioning regimen, or transplant related mortality (TRM). This study documents a significant disturbance of pro-oxidative/antioxidative balance in the plasma of patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT regardless of the intensity of the conditioning regimen.

Prognostic role of serum vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor and nitric oxide in patients with colorectal carcinoma.

Recently, angiogenesis has gained an increasing interest as a prognostic factor in a variety of solid tumours. In this study we aimed to assess the prognostic role of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC).A total of 52 consecutive colorectal cancer patients with stage I to IV disease was included. In addition to routine laboratory and staging procedures, serum VEGF, b-FGF levels, and nitrate levels as a surrogate marker for in-vivo NO production were assayed. Serum VEGF concentrations, adjusted to the platelet count were found to be a significant factor for overall survival in univariate analysis (P=0.033). A new angiogenic index (AI), derived from serum VEGF and nitrate concentrations, was established. AI is the only independent prognostic factor of survival in all patients (P=0.008, Cox regression analysis). Likewise, AI is also significant prognostic factor for disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with operable CRC (P=0.032, Cox regression analysis). In conclusion, serum VEGF and NO levels have prognostic role in patients with CRC and the new angiogenesis index using the serum levels of the factors seem to be useful.