Abstract
Many antineoplastic agents alter the reduced glutathione (GSH) status of liver and tumor tissue by inhibiting cellular GSH-linked enzymes. Thus, intracellular GSH plays an important role in a wide variety of antineoplastic interventions regarding therapeutic efficacy and toxicity. Mean GSH values were 0.791 ± 0.072 mg/m wet weight (ww) and 0.719 ± 0.047 mg/g ww in gastric cancer tissue and nontumorous glandular mucosa, respectively. Whereas, the average GSH level of normal gastric mucosa was 1.709 ± 0.135 mg/g, the mean GSH level of normal liver biopsies was 2.378 ± 0.260 mg/g. The GSH values of normal liver tissue were higher than the hepatocellular GSH concentrations of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and of another group of tumor-bearing patients who had received chemotherapy preoperatively. These results suggest that the GSH levels of tumor and liver may influence the efficacy and/or toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents.
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