Objectives: To determine and compare the antioxidant power, cellular damage by lipidic peroxidation, and membrane damage in normal patients and patients with prostate cancer, so determining the antitumoral capacity.
Methods: The study population included 19 patients with elevated total PSA, greater than 4 ng/ml, with a minimum of 10 ultrasound guided transrectal biopsies, and 10 normal subjects as control group. In all cases, medical history, rectal digital examination, PSA determination and routine analyses were performed in addition to spectrophotometric tests to measure the antioxidant power. Membrane damage was measured by determination of malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and cellular damage by glutathione peroxidase.
Results: From a total of 19 cases: 6 (31.5%) presented prostate cancer (4 Gleason 7; 1 Gleason 6 and 1 Gleason 8); 8 presented histological benign prostatic hyperplasia with a component of chronic prostatitis; 3 patients prostatic hyperplasia and glandular atrophy; and 2 cases isolated benign prostatic hyperplasia. All 10 control patients presented values within normal range in all determinations, whereas study patients showed antioxidant power < 1.3 mmol/l in 13 cases; higher than 1.77 mmol/l in 4 and normal values in 2. MDA was elevated in 15 patients and normal in 4, all of them without histological chronic prostatitis. Four of the patients with prostate cancer presented a diminished antioxidant power below 0.90, with a relationship with glandular architecture, because those with Gleason 8 and 7 did not exceed 0.58 mmol/l. Two patients with prostate cancer with a lower Gleason score presented normal minimal values.
Conclusions: Patients with prostate cancer or reactive processes, such as chronic prostatitis or atrophic prostatitis, present a decreased antioxidant power and an increase of lipidic peroxidation.