Significance of blood serum catalase activity and malondialdehyde level for survival prognosis of ovarian cancer patients

Background and objective: Several markers were found to be potential prognostic factors in ovarian cancer. Among markers resembling systemic changes in the host's organism are markers of the oxidative stress. In this study we attempted to analyze the oxidant and antioxidant parameters of ovarian cancer patients.
Materials and methods: A total of 42 patients with newly diagnosed stages I–IV primary ovary cancer were examined. Level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalytic activity catalase (CAT) were determined spectrophotometrically.
Results: Significantly lower CAT (28.2 ± 15.5 vs. 36.1 ± 14.6 nmol/L/min, P = 0.019) activity and higher MDA levels (8.7 ± 3.0 vs. 6.7 ± 2.7 nmol/L, P = 0.002) were observed in cancer patients compared with healthy volunteers. Both variables were not confirmed as prognostic factors according to Kaplan–Meier survival estimates.
Conclusions: MDA and CAT demonstrate oxidative stress in cancer patients: CAT activity was significantly lower and MDA levels higher in cancer patients compared to healthy controls. These variables were not confirmed to be prognostic factors in ovarian cancer, possibly due to small size of the study group.