Alterations in plasma lipid profile patterns in head and neck cancer and oral precancerous conditions.

BACKGROUND: The changes in lipid profile have long been associated with cancer because lipids play a key role in maintenance of cell integrity. AIMS: The present study evaluated alterations in plasma lipid profile in untreated head and neck cancer patients as well as patients with oral precancerous conditions (OPC) and its association with habit of tobacco consumption. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This hospital-based case control study included 184 head and neck cancer patients, 153 patients with OPC and 52 controls. Plasma lipids including: (i) Total cholesterol, (ii) LDL cholesterol (LDLC), (iii) HDL cholesterol (HDLC) (iv) VLDL cholesterol (VLDLC) and (v) triglycerides were analysed by spectrophotometric kits. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Student's t-test was performed to compare mean values of the parameters. RESULTS: A significant decrease in plasma total cholesterol and HDLC was observed in cancer patients (P=0.008 and P=0.000 respectively) as well as in patients with OPC (P=0.014 and P=0.000, respectively) as compared to the controls. The plasma VLDL and triglycerides levels were significantly lower in cancer patients as compared to the patients with OPC (P=0.04) and controls (P=0.059). The tobacco habituates showed lower plasma lipid levels than the non-habituates. Our data strengthen the evidence of an inverse relationship between plasma lipid levels and head and neck malignancies as well as OPC. CONCLUSION: The lower levels of plasma cholesterol and other lipid constituents in patients might be due to their increased utilization by neoplastic cells for new membrane biogenesis. The findings strongly warrant an in-depth study of alterations in plasma lipid profile in head neck cancer patients.

Clinical usefulness of alterations in sialic acid, sialyl transferase and sialoproteins in breast cancer.

Sialic acid, the end moieties of the carbohydrate chains are biologically important and essential for functions of glycoconjugates and are reported to be altered in cancer patients. Two hundred and twenty five breast cancer (BC) patients, 100 patients with benign breast disease (BBD) and 100 healthy females (controls) were enrolled for the study. Eight hundred and twenty four follow-up samples of 225 breast carcinoma patients were also evaluated. The association of sialic acid forms, sialyltransferase and α-2-6 sialoproteins levels with presence and extent as well as prognosis of breast carcinoma was studied. Serum sialic acid forms and sialyltransferase revealed significantly elevated levels among untreated breast cancer patients as compared to the controls, patients with BBD as well as cancer patients in remission. Non-responders showed comparable levels of the markers with those found in breast cancer patients at the time of diagnosis. Higher levels of sialic acid forms at diagnosis were associated with poor prognosis. A positive correlation between serum levels of different forms of sialic acids and extent of malignant disease was observed. The changes in serum proteins with terminal α-2-6 sialic acid correlated well with alterations in the levels of sialic acid forms and sialyltransferase. Malignant tissues showed elevated levels of sialic acid and sialyltransferase as compared to surrounding normal tissues.The results suggested potential utility of these markers in evaluation of clinical outcome.

Evaluation of serum alkaline DNase activity in treatment monitoring of head and neck cancer patients.

Our previously published data on breast cancer suggest that serum alkaline DNase, a known circulating tumour marker, can be used for treatment monitoring of cancer patients. Serum alkaline DNase activities were analyzed in 215 untreated head and neck cancer patients. The enzyme activity ranged from 0.17 to 97.97 IKU/l in untreated cancer patients. Responders (n = 314) showed significantly elevated activity of alkaline DNase as compared to untreated cancer patients (p < 0.001). While non-responders (n = 168) showed comparable activity with untreated cancer patients. Serum alkaline DNase activities were significantly elevated in responders as compared to non-responders (p < 0.001). Our clinical studies during follow-up of patients indicated that the variations in serum alkaline DNase activities in individual patients correlate closely with response to therapy. Serum alkaline DNase also appeared to be useful in predicting treatment response in the long-term follow-up of patients. Serum alkaline DNase was systematically examined as a possible indicator for recurrence in patients under complete remission. In conclusion, serum alkaline DNase may be useful as a treatment monitoring in patients with head and neck malignancies.