CYTOTOXIC ALDEHYDES AS POSSIBLE MARKERS FOR CHILDHOOD-CANCER

Concentrations of 22 known aldehydes (byproducts of lipid peroxidation ), 5 acyloins, free and total carnitine and acylcarnitines were measur ed in plasma and urine obtained from pediatric patients with various f orms of cancer before any treatment, and following treatment with doxo rubicin or daunorubicin. Aldehydes, before the initiation of chemother apy, were significantly elevated in cancer patients compared to contro ls. Aldehydes such as hexanal, heptanal, and malondialdehyde were stri kingly higher in samples from cancer patients, while trans 4-cis-4-dec enal was the prominent aldehyde in the blood of controls. In addition, in each form of cancer the pattern of aldehydes appeared to be unique when compared to controls, or to others forms of cancer, In cancer pa tients receiving chemotherapy there was a general trend toward a reduc tion 24 h after both the first and after the fifth doxorubicin dose. T hese changes however were not significant statistically due to large i nter-patient variation. Free and total plasma carnitine levels remaine d in the normal range, and there a ere no abnormal acylcarnitines dete cted in urine, Possible hypotheses to explain the elevations in aldehy des, and the reasons for the changed aldehyde profiles in different fo rms of cancer are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.