The Effectiveness of Glutathione Redox Status as a Possible Tumor Marker in Colorectal Cancer

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 12; p. 6183
• Main Authors: Acevedo-León, Delia, Monzó-Beltrán, Lidia, Gómez-Abril, Segundo Ángel, Estañ-Capell, Nuria, Camarasa-Lillo, Natalia, Pérez-Ebri, Marisa Luisa, Escandón-Álvarez, Jorge, Alonso-Iglesias, Eulalia, Santaolaria-Ayora, Marisa Luisa, Carbonell-Moncho, Araceli, Ventura-Gayete, Josep, Pla, Luis, Martínez-Bisbal, Maria Carmen, Martínez-Máñez, Ramón, Bagán-Debón, Leticia, Viña-Almunia, Aurora, Martínez-Santamaría, M. Amparo, Ruiz-Luque, María, Alonso-Fernández, Jorge, Bañuls, Celia, Sáez, Guillermo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 08-06-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Accuracy; Age; Antigens; Antioxidants; Biomarkers; Cancer; Carcinogenesis; Carcinogens; Cholesterol; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Diagnostic tests; Disease; Enzymes; GSH; GSSG; GSSG/GSH redox state; Markers; Metastases; Mortality; Oxidation; Oxidative stress; Redox properties; Tumor markers; Tumorigenesis; Tumors; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126183

The role of oxidative stress (OS) in cancer is a matter of great interest due to the implication of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their oxidation products in the initiation of tumorigenesis, its progression, and metastatic dissemination. Great efforts have been made to identify the mechanisms of ROS-induced carcinogenesis; however, the validation of OS byproducts as potential tumor markers (TMs) remains to be established. This interventional study included a total of 80 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and 60 controls. By measuring reduced glutathione (GSH), its oxidized form (GSSG), and the glutathione redox state in terms of the GSSG/GSH ratio in the serum of CRC patients, we identified significant changes as compared to healthy subjects. These findings are compatible with the effectiveness of glutathione as a TM. The thiol redox state showed a significant increase towards oxidation in the CRC group and correlated significantly with both the tumor state and the clinical evolution. The sensitivity and specificity of serum glutathione levels are far above those of the classical TMs CEA and CA19.9. We conclude that the GSSG/GSH ratio is a simple assay which could be validated as a novel clinical TM for the diagnosis and monitoring of CRC.