Concentrations of 22 known
aldehydes (byproducts of lipid peroxidation), 5 acyloins, free and total
carnitine and acylcarnitines were measured in plasma and urine obtained from pediatric patients with various forms of
cancer before any treatment, and following treatment with
doxorubicin or
daunorubicin.
Aldehydes, before the initiation of
chemotherapy, were significantly elevated in
cancer patients compared to controls.
Aldehydes such as
hexanal,
heptanal, and
malondialdehyde were strikingly higher in samples from
cancer patients, while trans 4-cis-4-decenal 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 patients receiving
chemotherapy there was a general trend toward a reduction 24 h after both the first and after the fifth
doxorubicin dose. These changes however were not significant statistically due to large inter-patient variation. Free and total plasma
carnitine levels remained in the normal range, and there were no abnormal acylcarnitines detected in urine. Possible hypotheses to explain the elevations in
aldehydes, and the reasons for the changed
aldehyde profiles in different forms of
cancer are discussed.