Serum beta-glucuronidase in colon cancer patients dependent on alcohol and nicotine: preliminary report
Journal Title: Progress in Health Sciences - Year 2012, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction: Beta-glucuronidase (GLU) is a lysosomal exoglycosidase involved in the catabolism of glycoconjugates. Excessive GLU activity may be a primary factor in the etiology of colon cancer. The stimulation of glycosidases and other degradative enzyme activity has been noted in cancers as well as in alcohol and nicotine addiction. Purpose: To compare the serum GLU activity between alcohol- and nicotine-dependent colon cancer patients and colon cancer patients without a history of alcohol- and nicotine-dependence. Materials and methods: Material was the serum of 22 colon cancer patients, 11 of whom met alcohol and nicotine dependence criteria. The activity of serum GLU (pKat/ml) was determined by the colorimetric method. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) concentration (ng/ml) in the serum was determined by the immunoenzymatic method. Comparisons between groups were made using the Mann-Whitney “U” test. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to measure the association between two variables. Results: The activity of serum GLU was significantly higher in colon cancer patients with a history of alcohol and nicotine dependence, than in the colon cancer patients without a history of drinking and smoking (p=0.003). There was no significant difference in the CEA concentration between colon cancer patients with and without a history of drinking and smoking. Conclusion: Alcohol and nicotine addiction may increase the serum GLU activity in all cancer patients, as already seen in colon cancer patients. This may potentially be important for the degradation of pericancerous matrix, tumor growth, invasion and metastasis.
Authors and Affiliations
Waszkiewicz, B. Zalewska-Szajda, A. Szulc, S. Chojnowska, J. Dadan, JR. Ładny
Keywords
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