Before any malignant tumor and its metastases start growing in brain, blood plasma of cancer patients becomes saturated with nitrogen oxide derivatives. Research fellows from Rostov-on-Don science and research cancer centre suggest using such parameter, as concentration of nitrogen oxide derivatives in blood plasma, for making predictions about further development of dangerous disease.

Twenty five or even thirty per cent of cancer patients usually suffer from metastases invading their brain, moreover, in this case location of primary tumor is not important at all. When metastasis is accompanied with growth of primary tumor, patient is usually doomed. Half of patients, carrying metastases in brain, pass away due to said neoplasms despite any therapy introduced. Thus, it is very important that brain metastases should be detected as soon as possible for taking necessary measures and prevention of their further growth. Nitrogen oxide appears to be a suitable diagnostic marker for this purpose.

Nitrogen oxide and its derivatives are crucial chemical compounds for cancer neoplasms' growth and development, since nitrogen oxide affects growth of vessels inside a tumor, as well as tumor growth itself, and processes of metastasis and apoptosis (programmed cell death). The level of nitrogen oxide may vary depending on treatment efficiency.

Experimental part of the research was performed on twenty four patients of neuro-oncology department of Rostov-on-Don science and research cancer institute. Volunteers for the sake of future generations were patients suffering from various cancer types - malignant breast cancer and lung cancer, with tumors in kidney and thyroid gland, and melanoma. Control group consisted of 15 people without any oncological diseases. Every patient gave blood for measuring following nitrogen oxide derivatives in blood plasma: peroxynitrite, nitrous hemoglobin, nitrous glutathione and nitro-tyrosine by means of spectrophotometry.

Tests showed that cancer patients with multiple metastases in brain had much higher concentration of nitrogen oxide derivatives in blood plasma than patients with single metastases and healthy people had. As for patients with single metastases, their situation was quite complicated. Five patients showed extremely high level of such nitrogen oxide derivatives, as peroxynitrite and nitrous hemoglobin, while other patients of this group showed same concentration of said derivatives as in control group. Time went, and two out of five patients showed rapid growth of metastases in brain, one had metastasis in lymphatic nodes, and last two patients complained on growing of primary tumor.

Since concentration of nitrous derivatives increases before any clinician is able to detect either primary tumor growth, or metastasis in brain, oncologists from Rostov-on-Don suggest using above-mentioned parameter for predicting disease development.

Source:
    Russian Science News

Kizilova Anna